Spider Lady
by writer writing
Summary: Chloe becomes a part of the events in the 1948 Superman serial. When she returns to present day, she finds there is a present day Spider Lady.
1. Chapter 1

Chloe wasn't sure how it had happened. One minute she was walking down a busy street in Metropolis and, well, the next she still found herself walking down a busy street in Metropolis but in a different era. Gone was present day of 2007 and here was…1948; it had taken her a moment to locate a paper.

This couldn't be happening. There was no rational explanation for this. She tried retracing her steps, but she wasn't taken back to her own time. She didn't know how she had gotten here, and she didn't know how to leave. For now, she was going to pretend this was a dream and ignore the fact that she'd pinched herself, and it had hurt. She would walk to the Daily Planet, as had been her destination before she had been transported.

It was the time period, where despite the fact color had always existed in real life, you had somehow pictured it in black and white. She now had definite proof that 1948 was in living color. She looked at the people around her. Every man and woman seemed to have a hat on like it was illegal to be outside without one. She had somehow acquired one herself, and it went without saying that all the women had dresses on.

She quickened her pace to the Planet. Hopefully, it existed in this year. It had to. It was an old paper, but what if it was some strange world where it didn't exist? That newspaper was her anchor and her life. It would be the only familiar thing. Her parents weren't even born yet. She could probably track down her grandparents, but what good would that do?

A huge sigh of relief escaped her lips as the Daily Planet loomed into sight. It didn't seem to be as big as the current one and the architecture was different, but it was the Daily Planet all the same. She rushed inside. She passed a deserted receptionist desk and a room full of reporters and their desks. Then she saw the editor's door.

It said Perry White on it. That was a strange coincidence. She and Clark had met a reporter in Smallville by that name. His life had been ruled by alcohol, but it seemed like he had gotten back on track; it couldn't be the same one.

She knocked and a voice growled, "Come in."

A middle-aged man with snow white hair and a mustache sat at the desk, holding a cigar in his hand. Although he didn't look quite the same, he somehow reminded her of the Perry she knew.

"Yeah, what do you want?"

"Um, I'd like a job as a reporter if I don't already have one."

"I'm not hiring reporters right now, especially girl reporters. The cooking and gossip sections are filled."

Chloe's mouth hung open for a second. She had never been openly discriminated against like this. Then she remembered the times. Not too many women were a part of the work force yet, and if they were, they were usually in traditional women's jobs like nursing or teaching. "Are you sure you don't have room for an investigative reporter? I'm good, and I've had experience."

"I already have a girl investigative reporter. She's a handful as it is. If she wasn't so darn good, I'd fire her. A pretty, young woman like you should find a husband and raise some kids."

"I'm not ready to settle down, and in the mean time, I need money to pay the rent and put food on the table."

He seemed to consider her words. "I admire your spirit, young lady. You don't give up easily. How about a job as a receptionist?"

"If I have spirit, why can't I report?"

"It takes more than spirit for a girl to be a reporter. You have to be aggressive and as tough as they come, male or female. You have spirit, but I don't see the rest. I can tell you're a nice girl though, and I'm offering you a job as a receptionist. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it." Chloe was disappointed, but it wasn't like she planned to be stuck here forever.

The phone rang. She stayed to listen out of curiosity.

"What?" Perry yelled after listening to somebody talk. "You're crazy…Then you're both crazy!" He listened some more. "Are you telling me you were going to be in a train wreck that didn't happen? That the train rail mysteriously straightened itself out? What kind of story is that? No, I'll tell you what kind of story that is. It's crazy. Now cover that mine disaster like you're supposed to." He hung up the phone. "What are you waiting for?" He asked Chloe. "You said you'd take the job now go to the receptionist desk!"

"Yes, sir."

"And don't put any calls through to my desk!"

Chloe surveyed her desk. It looked like a lot of answering phones, which meant figuring out to operate the antique thing. There was also a typewriter. That's when the realization hit her that there were no computers. She couldn't remember ever getting a story without one. Maybe it was just as well that she hadn't gotten a job as a reporter. She needed to learn to be less dependent on a machine, handy though they were. She'd have to learn, depending how long she was stuck in 1948.

She saw the light on the board flashing and wondered how long there'd been no one to answer the calls. She sat down and plugged in the cord where the light was flashing, put on the headset, picked up the device to talk into, and said, "Hello, Daily Planet." She felt a moment of triumph. She had operated the ancient technology like she belonged to this time. "Oh, I'm sorry. You can't talk to Mr. White right now…Uh-uh. You're welcome." She wrote down the missed call just in case he wanted to know later on.

"Good morning," said a male voice behind her.

It couldn't be. It sounded familiar and yet different. She spun around. It looked like it could be him if this was an alternate world. He quaintly tipped his hat. It was an old-fashioned gesture but cute. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Who do I see about a job?"

"That would be Mr. White, only he can't see you right now," and she tried to finish writing her note.

"Why not?"

Chloe felt annoyed, even if he strongly resembled her best friend, Clark Kent. Here was a man who thought he could waltz in and take the job she so desperately wanted. "On account that he's gone crazy over a train wreck that never happened."

He smiled like it amused him and he knew something about it. If he was Clark Kent, and that was impossible, he may very well have. "Um, I think I'll take a chance and barge in anyway. You needn't bother to announce me." He picked up the suitcases he had brought with him. Chloe thought it was stupid to bring suitcases into an interview. He should have found a place to stay first or left them in a taxi or something. He started for Perry White's office.

"Hey!" she shouted. "You! Whatever your name is!"

He was ignoring her and she was fuming. Men of this time were so arrogant. He went into the office, and she followed to listen at the door.

Perry was yelling at some reporters about writing the train incident and telling them to write it as mass hysteria. She hid against the wall as the 3 reporters left and among them, Chloe bitterly noted, was a woman. She watched the journalist go to her desk and noticed her title was not an investigative reporter. Feeling a little better, she directed her attention back to what was going on behind the now closed door.

"What do you want?" Perry barked suddenly.

Apparently he hadn't immediately noticed the man's presence.

"A job."

"Any special kind or would mine do?" he asked sarcastically.

Chloe smiled. It wasn't going well for him.

"I'd like to be a reporter."

"So would a lot of people," Chloe muttered under her breath.

"I haven't had any experience writing, but—"

'Was that guy serious?' Chloe thought.

"That should help," Perry said.

Chloe smiled again.

"I have plenty of qualifications that might be valuable," he said like he was doing Perry a favor.

The phone rang, and Perry answered it. "I told you I wasn't to be disturbed under—oh, it's you, Lois."

'Of course, it was Lois,' Chloe thought. 'I'm not at my desk to transfer any calls. Anybody who calls has to know his number. Wait a minute, Lois?'

"Get it anyhow. Let me talk to Jimmy Olsen."

This was just too freaky and coincidental. It had to be her boyfriend, who worked as a copyboy. He must not be a copyboy in this time. She couldn't believe any of this. Perry started ranting, and Jimmy must not have been able to get a word in edgewise.

As soon as Perry hung up the phone, the man who had to have been Clark said, "I can do the mine story. They won't keep me out."

If it was the Lois she knew, they wouldn't keep Lois out either.

"How'd you know about the mine? I didn't mention it."

"My hearing is a little better than average."

It was Clark Kent without a doubt. A little better than average her foot. Try a lot better than average.

"How about giving me a chance?"

"If you can get inside that mine and bring the story back, the job is yours."

Chloe couldn't believe how unfair that was. She hoped he didn't get it, Clark or not.

"You can meet Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen there. They'll be the ones standing outside."

Lois Lane cinched it. She was in some kind of parallel universe. There was some silence, and she scrambled back to her desk. She watched Clark leave, but she fully intended on following. She wasn't going to miss a story just because she was a receptionist.


	2. Chapter 2

For some reason, Clark didn't use his super speed. He took a taxi, maybe to avert suspicion. Her taxi even passed his. His taxi driver must have had qualms about speeding.

When Chloe got there, Jimmy wasn't there, but she didn't think he had managed to get inside. Her cousin of a different time was standing there with her arms folded angrily. The angry arm fold was what identified her and the brunette hair. She was probably trying to concoct a plan. She had a big, floppy hat, something she could have never pictured on Lois before now.

She saw an old man go over to Lois and say, "I want to talk to you, miss." Chloe watched suspiciously, hidden in the crowd. Lois followed him to a private area. No wonder Lois got in so much trouble, going off with what could be a dangerous stranger. Chloe inched closer to the edge of the crowd and listened carefully.

"I heard you talking about getting into the mine. Well, I know a way. It leads down to a shaft where the accident happened."

"It won't do any good if the place is guarded."

Lois used a little common sense in the 1940s. Chloe couldn't help but wonder why this man would want to help her in the first place. Plus, Lois could get hurt going into the mine. Not that Chloe always used common sense herself.

"Well, that's just it. It ain't. Of course, I figure this ought to be worth a little something."

Great, Lois couldn't resist going in there now with no guards and with the man's simple motive revealed, money. Lois frowned but went for her purse. It was disgusting that people would try to make money off a disaster. Lois must have thought the same thing because she asked in a displeased voice, "Will this do?"

The man smiled and assured her that it would and said, "Follow me."

Chloe followed too. It was a tricky path especially in heels, but Lois kept up with the man like she'd been wearing tennis shoes. Chloe wasn't as talented in heels, but there was no reason to get too close to them anyway. She hid behind some trees a good distance away from the opening. There was nothing closer, so she had no idea what they were saying. What she wouldn't do to have Clark's hearing or any of his powers for that matter.

The man seemed to be giving her directions to where the miners were. Of course, the man wouldn't risk his own neck and show her where the spot was. Lois asked the man a question. She was probably asking why the miners couldn't get out this way. Chloe figured that they probably were too weak to get out themselves, and it looked like the cave-in had only recently opened the old entrance back up. They probably didn't know about it. Lois looked a little hesitant, but of course, she wasn't going to back down. If only the man would go away, she'd follow her in. She might give Lois a heart attack, but maybe she could talk some sense into her.

The stupid, old man was nosily peering in and blocking her way as Lois disappeared from sight. At last, he began to saunter away from the opening and then there was another cave-in and dust poured out of the opening. Chloe's heart leapt into her throat; maybe this was why she had been brought here. To save the Lois of this time and now Lois may have been crushed flatter than a pancake. At the very least, she had gotten trapped and might run out of oxygen.

The man took off running for help and Chloe went up to the opening, hoping to hear Lois' cries for help. She tried to move a rock, but it was too heavy. She saw the man returning with Clark and went back to her hiding spot. Clark would save her now if anyone could. The man seemed to get mad at Clark about something and took off running for help again.

Clark seemed to stare stupidly at the entrance. He was probably using his x-ray vision.

For a second, she thought he had spotted her when he turned around and she moved further back into the trees. He ran over behind the trees too and began stripping. She didn't know how his being in his underwear would help matters. He jumped back out into the open in what must have been his long johns. He also had a cape and boots. She didn't know that had ever been in style. He left behind his hat and glasses too. Then it hit her. It was a disguise. She should have guessed it when she saw him in glasses. Clark didn't need glasses. Clark with an S on his chest ran back for the mine.

Chloe was worried that it was too late for Lois. She was tempted to go in too, but she would just get in the way, so she anxiously watched for Clark to reappear with Lois in his arms. He had to.


	3. Chapter 3

Clark came out of the cave. Lois was in one arm and a miner was in the other. Chloe was glad to see her but still worried because she was unconscious. He laid them on the hillside, and Lois began to stir.

As soon as she was awake and looking at Clark strangely, he said. "You take care of him, and I'll go back for the others." Then he took off.

Chloe was sure Lois must have recognized him and had to be wondering why Clark was dressed like a trapeze artist, but she didn't say anything. She waited until the miner was conscious and then she took off.

Chloe figured she better get back to the Planet herself, before her absence was noticed.

She was there to see Lois come through the door with a man trailing behind her. It was Jimmy without a doubt.

"I hear you come with a great story," Chloe called out, hoping Lois or Jimmy would recognize her. They looked at her but for some reason there was no recognition in their eyes. "Only someone else brought it in," she finished.

Lois looked ticked at the news and Jimmy just looked mildly annoyed. Chloe would have turned in the story herself in hopes of the job, but Clark had beat them all to it, using super speed to get back first. Clark had gotten the job as a Daily Planet reporter. Life just wasn't fair. Chloe wanted to see what Lois was going to do when she found out it was Clark, so she followed to eavesdrop again.

Lois threw her pocketbook onto her desk and went into Perry White's office. Jimmy was still at her heels. They left the door open, so Chloe could see inside. Lois and Jimmy looked like a couple of little kids waiting on a lecture, and it appeared they were going to get one as Perry started to talk.

"Well, they're here after all. May I congratulate you two?"

Lois folded her arms and said snappishly, "Skip the sarcasm, Chief," and Jimmy tugged nervously at his collar.

"You missed the story," Perry told them.

"We have the story, and we'd have phoned it in if we'd known we were going to be stabbed in the back!" Lois never went down without a fight, but Jimmy didn't say a word. He just shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You got the wrong slant, Lois," Perry said. "Kent gave us a scoop we badly needed."

That didn't appease Lois. "Oh, yeah? Well, he's still a rat for my money. While I'm out risking my neck, he—" she noticed the man with the newspaper in the corner. The paper had Superman in the headline. 'That was what Clark had decided to call himself?' Chloe thought with amusement.

"Who's your silent partner?" Lois asked Perry.

Clark removed the newspaper from his face and tipped his hat. "I'm the rat," he said with a smile. He stood up and walked over beside her.

"Lois Lane, this is Clark Kent," Perry introduced.

Clark tipped his hat again.

"Nice bit of reporting you did. Underhanded but still nice," Lois said, instead of saying something like nice to meet you or apologizing about calling him a rat. Chloe smiled. It was nothing that Lois wouldn't do herself if given a chance. Lois sounded as if she had meant what she said about the reporting being nice, but it also sounded like she wasn't about to forgive him anytime soon.

Chloe suddenly realized with a start that Lois and Clark didn't know each other in this alternate world. This was their first meeting, other than as Superman. It must have been better than meeting Clark as a naked amnesiac she laughed to herself. It also explained why Lois hadn't questioned Clark's disguise. She didn't know him well, so they looked like 2 different people. Lois of her time, and other people that knew him, would have to be fairly blind and stupid for Clark to suddenly put on a pair of glasses and then expect it to hide that it was him when he donned a cape and tights.

"I'm sorry, but my getting a job depended on it," Clark explained his cheating, although Lois had no idea just how much he had cheated.

"By the way what about that job?" Clark asked.

"You've been on the payroll for hours," Perry told him. "Perhaps now we can have some teamwork around here."

"We will," Lois said, but Chloe seemed to be the only one to detect that she didn't mean it by a long shot. The smile on her face meant trouble.

"Fix him up with a desk," Perry told Lois.

That brought back Lois' scowl and her famous arm fold. She must have just realized how concrete and strong the competition would be now. She barged past him. Chloe could empathize where the hostilities were coming from. These times were not fair to women reporters, not being the best could mean a lower position. You couldn't afford the competition. Of course, modern Lois would be just as ruthlessly competitive. She'd been raised that way, and it was a part of her personality.

Chloe quickly got out of Lois' way as Lois stormed from the office. She didn't dare go near her when she was in this kind of a mood. Lois shoved all the things on a man's desk into the floor and the man shouted, "Hey, my desk!"

Chloe looked back at Perry and saw he was laughing. She had obeyed after all. Lois' tantrums must have amused him, and Chloe had to admit it was funny except to the man's whose desk it was. Chloe went back to her own desk before the commotion subsided, and Perry realized she wasn't as dedicated to her job as she should be.

Chloe was troubled when the work day was over. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do. Once she got out to the street, she dug through the contents of her purse for the first time. She found what she was looking for, a driver's license, but she gasped when she realized it didn't say Chloe Sullivan. It said Gloria Roberts. She wasn't even in her own body.

She looked at her reflection in the glass. She was the brunette in the picture. She had known her voice sounded different, but she had chalked it up to a cold. She saw that thankfully Gloria did have an address and got a taxi to take her there.

As she explored the apartment, she discovered she lived alone and that she worked at a bank. If—when—she had to correct herself she got back to her own body, Gloria would discover she had a new job. She hoped Gloria didn't mind, but there was no way she was leaving the Daily Planet or the people that were at least partially familiar to her.


	4. Chapter 4

Superman began doing all kinds of amazing feats. He stopped crimes and saved lives. He was finally doing on a grand scale what Chloe believed he had been called to do all along. A lot of time seemed to pass, and it wasn't long before Chloe had almost forgotten about ever getting back to her own time. She wanted to follow Clark and watch him but that rarely happened. He was too quick and he traveled too far sometimes. Chloe was especially disappointed that she missed out on watching him stop a weapon called the reducer ray that was just what it sounded like.

Chloe wasn't too thrilled when she heard a meteor was coming to earth. She wasn't sure how many meteors she could take in her lifetime. Luckily there only seemed to be one coming this time and hopefully it wouldn't give people powers. Wasn't there already too many meteor freaks in the world, at least in her time. She hadn't run across any here. She was going to cover this for sure and pray it was just a plain piece of rock.

Chloe didn't go home the evening it was supposed to hit but hid out as she found herself often having to do because she was just "the receptionist". Jimmy, Clark, and Lois, however, paced around with Perry in his office as they waited, wondering if it would really hit at 8:00 p.m. like it was supposed to. Chloe felt like such an outsider around her own boyfriend, her best friend, and her cousin. Life just wasn't fair right now, hers or Gloria's.

"I think I see it!" Jimmy shouted, and the 4 people in the office ran for the window.

"That's the biggest meteor I've ever seen," Lois said.

Chloe felt frustrated that she couldn't see it.

"I wonder where it landed?" Jimmy questioned.

"It seems to have disappeared before it reached the horizon," Clark said.

"I have a network spotter waiting to report," Perry informed them.

"Meteors are so strange and mysterious," Lois said in a dreamy voice. "They come from somewhere out in the universe and no one knows where."

Clark was probably thinking the same thing as Chloe, 'That somewhere is probably Clark's home planet.'

The phone interrupted what Chloe liked to resentfully call the "DP gang's" speculation. Perry got the address of where the meteor landed. It had landed on some guy's farm. Perry relayed the information to everybody and then told Jimmy to stop.

"We'll let Lois and Kent cover this," Perry told Jimmy and to Lois and Clark he said, "You two might as well start learning how to work together."

Chloe couldn't see their faces, but she bet Lois was mad and Clark was pleased.

"Aw, heck," Jimmy said.

"I bet we'll get along fine, won't we, Lois?" Clark asked.

"Oh, yes. Yes, indeed," Lois answered.

It was easy to detect that Lois wasn't enjoying this, but what she couldn't figure out was Clark pleased to be annoying her or to be with her. She could easily tell if it was the Clark she knew, but this one was harder to understand.

Chloe followed them. Clark opened the passenger door to a Daily Planet car for Lois. Chloe was surprised Lois didn't get mad and try to do it herself, in fact, Chloe was surprised she wasn't insisting on driving. Then again times were different and maybe she was learning to tolerate Clark's presence.

Chloe got a taxi to follow them. It looked like Lois threw a light bulb out the window, where she got one Chloe had no idea, and why she had done it was the bigger question. The car pulled to a stop. Chloe couldn't pass them because it was such a narrow road, so Chloe's taxi had to stop too. Chloe could see all too clearly where this was going now. 'Don't get out, Clark. Don't get out, Clark,' she tried to ESP him but the poor, gullible guy went out anyway to check a fake blowout. Couldn't he have checked without getting out? He had powers but as blind as Lois was to Clark's disguise, Clark was just as blind to Lois' lies and tricks. As soon as Clark got behind the vehicle, she saw Lois scoot to the driver's side and take off like a bolt of lightening, leaving Clark in the dust. "Hey!" he called out, but he might just as well have hollered at a deaf person.

Chloe felt bad about leaving him on the road, but she couldn't pick him up. How was she going to explain her presence, so she kept following Lois. However, when she watched Lois talking to the farmer, she could tell somebody had came and got it. Chloe figured it was the Metropolis Museum, so she had her taxi go there.

When Chloe got there, she found out that the professor who worked there had picked up Clark on the road. She hated to say it, but it had served Lois right to be scooped by him after the trick she pulled.

As Chloe eavesdropped, the professor explained to Clark about the planet Krypton exploding and how this may be a piece from it. Chloe thought that was rather ironic and wondered how the professor had known about the planet. Maybe Superman had explained it in some press conference. The professor stopped explaining to ask Clark if he was alright. Chloe wondered why. Maybe he had gotten nervous about the professor mentioning Krypton, but Clark insisted he was fine. The professor turned off the lights. A green light filled the room and Chloe realized it might be green kryptonite. She started to go in there but stopped as she didn't hear Clark saying anything. Maybe it wasn't kryptonite after all. The professor kept talking about its origins. It was an alternate universe after all. It might not even affect him here. Then she heard a thud and the lights came back on. Chloe was ready to spring in there and get the rock far away from him, but then she heard the words, "Operator, get me an ambulance. Clark Kent just died in my office."


	5. Chapter 5

Someone who worked at the museum saw Chloe and told her the museum was closed.

"You don't understand—" Chloe started to say.

"I understand plenty. You better get out before charges are pressed, and I decide not just to assume that you were lost."

Chloe was able to duck out of sight behind a plant and wait for the man to go. When he did, she hurried back to the office door, hoping it wasn't too late. She should just have taken her chances and knocked the guy out.

"I don't understand. A moment ago I could've sworn you were dead."

Chloe sighed with great relief. The professor must have shut the box back.

"There was no pulse, no respiration. You better sit down."

"I'm feeling fine now," Clark assured him. "Did you put the cover on the meteorite while I was unconscious?"

"Yes."

"Would you mind taking it off again?"

Chloe wondered what in the world Clark was trying to do. She tried to peer through the crack in the door. Didn't he know what it could do to him? This really was a different world.

He started to stagger around in a very dramatic manner. "Cover it quickly!" Clark shouted.

Now he was thinking. It was a dangerous test to try no matter what he did or did not know about meteor rocks.

"Just as I thought," Clark said weakly.

"What do you mean?" the professor asked.

"It was the meteorite that knocked me out."

"How could it affect you and not me?"

"There's only one reason. It must be a fragment of the planet Krypton."

"Yes, that's what makes it the most important find in years."

"If that's so, you must destroy it."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"If you don't, I'll have to do something I've never done before. Let you in on a secret that is shared by no one else in the world. Watch."

Chloe began to worry. As carefully as he had guarded his secret over the years and now he was going to tell this stranger? It also hurt her when he had kept it from her for so many years, and she was a good friend. Even then he hadn't told her, she had stumbled upon it. He could have easily have stolen it as long as it was in the box. 'It wasn't the same Clark,' she had to remind herself. Chloe had to hide herself again as the museum worker came back down the hall and this time he noticed there was something going on in the professor's office, so he eavesdropped.

Clark told the professor to turn off the lights. He did. Clark was being so stupid. She just hoped that the professor really was an honest man, as well as this eavesdropper. He appeared to have revealed his Superman costume and now he was probably showing off his powers. At last they were talking loudly enough that she could hear, which was good for her but that meant the eavesdropper definitely heard.

"This has proven what I've thought for many years. I must be from Krypton," he told the professor.

Chloe couldn't believe he didn't even know that. She heard the professor promise to dispose of it after 2 days of scientific study and then it sounded as if Clark left through the window. "Showoff," Chloe muttered. The man that had been eavesdropping left too, freeing Chloe to leave. She didn't have to get a taxi. The Daily Planet was right down the street from the museum.

When she got there, Lois was explaining to Perry that the meteorite had already been taken by someone.

"Who was it?" Perry asked.

"Professor Leads," Clark answered, going into the Perry's office, "and his assistant Mr. Morgan."

"Well, go on. What's the story with the meteorite?" Perry asked.

"Oh, nothing much. It turned out to be an ordinary one. No importance."

"Did you check the lead on it?"

"Yes, I went to his office."

"You and Kent left together. How does it happen that he has the information and you haven't?" Perry yelled at Lois.

'Lois was in trouble now,' Chloe thought to herself.

"Um, something came up and we had to separate," Clark told Perry.

Chloe couldn't believe that he was defending her like that after she left him on the roadside. It'd almost make a person think he had defended her because he loved her, but it was Lois they were talking about. Lois was the bane of Clark's existence and that wouldn't change just because it was a different decade, and it certainly hadn't changed Lois' opinion of Clark. If anything, Lois despised Clark more. Clark was just being his regular, noble self.

"I don't get it!" Perry yelled.

"Excuse me, but I have an awful headache," Clark said.

"He has a headache?" Perry yelled, after Clark had left the office. "I'm the one who needs the aspirins."

Jimmy and Lois came out too. Chloe hadn't even known Jimmy had been in there. He'd never said a word or had been spoken to. Jimmy started to take off, but Lois grabbed him by the arm. Chloe felt a pang of jealousy. She shouldn't touch him like that.

"You know what I think?" Lois asked.

"What?" Jimmy asked back.

"I think Clark knows something about that meteorite, and he's holding out on us," she said, folding her arms.

"You're always thinking Clark is pulling one over on us," Jimmy complained.

"And most of the time I'm right."

"So you're right," Jimmy shrugged like how was that going to help things.

Chloe really wanted to know this Lois better. She was going to make an attempt of really talking to her tomorrow. She might even be able to help her get back.

"Lois, can I talk to you?" Chloe asked, as Lois came through the door that morning.

Lois looked a little surprised, but she went over to Chloe's desk. "Is there a message for me?"

"No. I just wanted to talk woman to woman."

"Okay. So?"

"Do you have a cousin?"

"That's a strange question but yes. Lots of people have cousins."

"Yes, they do, but I was looking for one in particular, a Chloe Sullivan."

"I'm sorry, but she's not a cousin of mine. I've lost track of a lot of my aunts and uncles, big families you know, but I've never heard of a Sullivan. Why?"

"I'd like your reporter expertise. If a person were going about tracking someone without a computer, how would they do it?"

"What's a computer?"

"It's like a TV with lots of information and a mouse and keyboard to operate it."

"You don't say. Well, if you'll excuse me—"

"No, forget I said anything about a computer. I need to find a Chloe Sullivan and some other information. Where would I go?"

"If you're trying to track down a person, it's easier to hire a private detective and let them do the work. If you're looking for general information, I'd say go to the library. It's this great little place that's filled with all kinds of books for you to look at for free."

Chloe blushed a little. "I knew that. I do have one more question. How did you get to be a reporter?"

Lois smiled and relaxed. She sat down on the corner of the desk. "It wasn't easy. I had to do a research project in high school on a great female who helped with women's rights. Our history teacher was really liberal. She was in a lot of the protests and at the conventions to give women the vote. Anyway I chose to do mine on Nellie Bly."

"Nellie Bly?"

"Yeah, she was this great reporter. She had to work under a pen name like most women reporters of the time, but she was sensational. She feigned insanity successfully to do an exposé on a women's mental institution."

"Yeah, I know who Nellie Bly is."

"I wish I could have met her, but she died when I was 2."

"2? Oh, right, this is the 1940s. I forgot."

"Anyway, I got really inspired and said if she can do these things, why not me? I'm just not the housewife type or the type for any of the traditionally female jobs. My mom was supportive, but my dad was…well, he was my dad."

"Really? I'd think the General would be supportive."

"What general? My dad was a farmer, who had high hopes for me to become a farmer's wife."

"This is really strange."

"I worked hard. I got into college. No one would take me though until I proved I could bring in stories and then it took me 3 years after I graduated to find someone who was willing to hire me as an investigative reporter and not as something like a copygirl. It's not an easy field to go into when you're a woman, but it's satisfying, if you like the work."

"You're pretty inspirational too."

"Thanks I think. Why are you so interested in my career choice?"

"I thought I might want to be a reporter, but if it's as hard as you say it is for someone with your determination, perhaps I'd better give it 60 years."

Lois shook her head, done with the craziness and went back to her own desk. Clearly the conversation hadn't been a success in forming a friendship, but it had helped remind her she didn't belong in this time, and she needed to get home. A good start would be studying books on time travel and hiring a private detective to find the Chloe of this time.

Lois' phone rang. "Lois Lane," Lois answered. "Hello Hawkins…Sure I remember you. Got any news for me?...I'll meet you at the usual place. If you've really got some information, you'll be paid for it…Aright, bye."

Jimmy had listened in too. She had no problem letting Jimmy come with her. Maybe it was because he was only a cub reporter and not competition and because they had known each other awhile. Clark was smiling as he typed. He must have heard too. Lois stuffed some papers in her desk, and Clark watched out of the corner of his eye. Lois picked up her purse and left. Clark was going to follow Lois, and Chloe was going to follow him. This was getting to be a vicious cycle.


	6. Chapter 6

"Come here, Kent," Perry called.

"Yes, sir," Clark answered him, putting his hat back onto his desk. He didn't look happy to have been stopped, but he did as he was told.

"Help Gladys with her lovelorn column. It may give you another headache."

Chloe chuckled and hurried to catch up with Lois. It was obviously a punishment of sorts. She wished she could stay and watch. It was bound to be funny, but she'd better go after Lois.

She found Lois and Jimmy going into an alley.

"Does Hawkins live here?" Jimmy asked.

"No, it's his office," Lois answered him like this should have been apparent and this was a perfectly normal place to have an office.

"Lookin' for somebody?" a man asked in an Italian accent, as he stepped out of a heavily shadowed corner.

Lois and Jimmy spun around, looking frightened, but then Lois smiled and shook her head. They walked over to him.

"Are you trying to scare us?" Lois asked.

"No, I always look people over before I show myself," Hawkins explained

"Somebody after you?" Jimmy asked.

"Quiet, sprout," Lois said disapprovingly, affirming their role as teacher and student. "Now where's the information?"

"I could show you," Hawkins said, rubbing his fingers together.

Lois pulled money from her purse and gave it to him. "There'll be more if the tip is good."

"It is," he assured her. He told her there was a house to show her where a suspicious man was.

Chloe tried to keep up as they walked and talked, but she wasn't able to get too close, so she missed a lot. Then she heard Lois shout "Spider Lady!" Lois stopped to talk to Hawkins face to face. This was the first time Chloe had heard the name.

"You mean the mysterious figure who's supposed to be the queen of the underworld?" Lois asked.

"She's not only supposed to be, she is," Hawkins told her.

Lois said that they could probably get to Spider Lady if this guy turned out to work for her.

"You better forget that if you want to stay healthy," Hawkins warned. "He lives across the street here. Take it easy. He might be watching."

There were 2 men shoving a guy into the car.

"They must have found who they were lookin' for," Hawkins said.

"That's Morgan, Professor Leads' assistant!" and Lois dashed out from the hiding spot with Jimmy running after her.

It looked like the guy who had eavesdropped at the museum, Chloe thought. Lois was going to try and stop them. It was classic Lois. Lois never could stand idly by when she knew someone was in danger. Chloe thought about helping her, but Lois could easily take on 2 guys, especially with Jimmy to help and if something should happen, Chloe would be free to call the police and/or Clark.

"What are you doing with Morgan?" Lois shouted as she got next to them.

"You keep out of this," one of the men shouted back at her and then pushed her against the wall.

They easily knocked Jimmy unconscious with one punch. Lois ran back over to help. The men grabbed her before she could do anything and shoved her into the car too.

If Lois found them to difficult to fight, Chloe knew she would. She decided it best to alert Clark. They left Jimmy on the ground, and Hawkins ran out after the car left. Chloe started to call on her cell phone and realized she didn't have one in this time. She'd have to find a payphone or someone who would let her use their telephone. Then she realized Hawkins was going to revive Jimmy, and Jimmy would go to Clark for help. Maybe it'd be better if she tried to follow Lois and the bad guys. She got a taxi to do so. She knew she had followed the right way when she saw a man guarding a chain across the road. She got her taxi to turn around and when she was out of sight she went through the woods to bypass the chain. She found the building and went inside.

There was no one in it, but then she saw an elevator and staircase leading downstairs. It took awhile to spot it because it was camouflage. She knew she couldn't use the elevator. She could picture the elevator dinging as she got off and all eyes turning to her. So she snuck down the staircase and peeked around the corner. It was easy to hear. The stairway was dark enough, and they were occupied enough that she felt safe. Plus, it appeared they preferred to use the elevator. They had blindfolded Lois and the assistant, so that they couldn't see the route that had been taken or the secret lair and the people in it. Chloe knew it was dangerous to have followed them like she did, but as long as she stayed out of sight, she'd be fine. She couldn't abandon her cousin.

"Tell Spider Lady she has 2 guests, one expected," one of the men informed a guy who was in the lair.

Spider Lady came out in a black mask and gown. She had very styled blonde hair. A web made of metal was behind her. She didn't look like a serious criminal, but she knew looks could be deceiving especially for the criminally insane.

"Who's the girl?" Spider Lady asked.

The men explained that she had interfered in the abduction.

"I'll question her later," Spider Lady said. "Just now I'm interested in this man. Sit down, Mr. Morgan."

The 2 men seated Mr. Morgan, and Spider Lady nodded. This caused the lights to be turned off. A single spotlight was put on Mr. Morgan.

"I understand you have information on the meteorite," Spider Lady said.

"That's right," Mr. Morgan agreed.

"You may remove the blindfold," Spider Lady said. Chloe didn't think that bode well for Mr. Morgan.

"It won't do any good to try and see me," Spider Lady said. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Spider Lady."

Mr. Morgan was more than a little nervous as he spoke, but he had no trouble admitting to her that he knew how to make Superman helpless. Chloe was disgusted that he had admitted it so easily, but he was probably hoping it would help save his life.

"I'm waiting," Spider Lady said.

"The meteor that fell the other night is a meteorite from the planet Krypton. We've got it at the museum now. Its rays take away all of Superman's powers."

"How do you know this?" Spider Lady asked.

"I was there. I saw it happen."

The lights came back on and Mr. Morgan clearly saw Spider Lady, not a good thing for Mr. Morgan.

"If this is true, we can steal the reducer ray without any trouble from Superman. With that weapon, I'll be the most powerful person in the world. Pay him," Spider Lady ordered.

"I won't take a dollar," Mr. Morgan complained when he had been handed a single bill. "What kind of practical joke is this? A dollar?"

"It's only a token. Those who work with me will share in fabulous wealth in the proper time."

"What I have given you is worth millions. You'll pay my price or—"

"Or what?" Spider Lady gave a nod to one of her henchmen, and he pulled out a gun.

He walked Mr. Morgan over to the web. The web began sucking him to it; a powerful magnet was at work. Spider Lady was working some levers and knobs. Then he let out a scream of pain as the web electrocuted him, taking his life. Chloe had to bite her knuckles to keep from crying in horror. She couldn't reveal herself.

"Bring the young lady over," Spider Lady said.

'Keep you head, Lois, or she'll kill you too,' Chloe wanted to tell her.

"Nobody asked you to come here," Spider Lady told Lois. "You can only blame yourself for what happens."

"Why don't you let me go," Lois pleaded. "I've been blindfolded the whole time. I couldn't possibly identify you or this place."

"I might take the risk if you weren't a newspaper reporter," Spider Lady said, holding Lois' press pass in her hand. "Did you think we wouldn't go through your handbag?"

Lois felt her pocketbook and bit her lip, evidently wishing she hadn't brought it. They took her over to the web, and Chloe watched, hoping it was time for Superman to make an appearance. Her heart pounded fearfully. Revealing herself would only get them both killed. She couldn't do anything. A tear rolled down Chloe's cheek, and Chloe furiously wiped it away, knowing it wouldn't help if Lois was killed, as it was Gloria's tear. Lois was sucked onto the web by the magnetism and the crackle of electricity could be heard. Lois screamed, causing Chloe's blood to run cold. How could Lois survive this?


	7. Chapter 7

Spider Lady switched off the lever, turning off the electricity, and Lois fell to the floor.

"Why did you do that?" one of the minions asked.

"I don't plan to finish her here," Spider Lady answered.

Chloe breathed a huge sigh of relief. Luckily, it always seemed liked criminals never quite finished the job, at least where Lois was concerned. It was almost as if they were giving the hero a chance to save the day.

"I just want her to realize my power," Spider Lady continued.

"You're not going to turn her loose?" the man asked incredulously.

"Certainly not!" she said indignantly. "Get her."

The men rushed over and picked up the unconscious Lois. They laid her on chair, and Spider Lady ordered, "Have 2 of the men take her to a warehouse in the city."

"Wouldn't it be safer to keep her here?" asked the minion. "Even Superman's x-ray eyes couldn't see through these lead walls."

"He won't find her in time at the warehouse either. I'll see to that. Now do as I say."

As the men took unconscious Lois on the elevator, Chloe climbed softly back up the stairs. She went back out and found her still-waiting taxi and followed them.

She thought she saw Clark and Jimmy heading in the other direction. They stopped and turned around to follow the car Lois was in. Clark must have seen Lois. Clark got out of the car, obviously to change into Superman.

Chloe watched the action from a distance. He grabbed onto the bumper of the car, stopping the car, although the wheels kept spinning in a desperate-like manner. One of the men got out and shot at him but to no effect, and the other one tried to stab him. They had no idea who they were dealing with. Clark picked the knife guy up and threw him against the gun guy. Then he picked them off the ground, banging their heads together and knocking them unconscious. He carelessly threw them back down. He took the bumper off the car and skillfully wrapped it around them. He then went to get Lois out of the car.

Lois had regained consciousness and was happy to see him. She began a long talk with him, apparently explaining about Spider Lady. The building had been cleverly hidden inside of a cave. The cool air had no doubt told Lois that it was a cave, but Lois wouldn't be able to identify the right one and truthfully there were so many caves among the hills where they had been, Chloe wasn't sure she identify it herself and she didn't dare go back alone. She had been lucky before, and this wasn't her body to go putting into peril. She didn't want Clark to go either, now that Spider Lady knew Superman's weakness. Spider Lady would probably come out of hiding sooner or later and when she did, Chloe could recognize her face and get her arrested.

Jimmy finally caught up. He was an irritatingly slow and careful driver, which Chloe thought was cute except in an emergency. Lois went to greet Jimmy, and Clark flew off.

Back at the office, Lois was explaining what had happened to Perry.

"And if it hadn't been for Superman I wouldn't be here, and of course, Jimmy helped too."

"It was nothing," Jimmy said bashfully.

"Superman rescued me from the men."

"Well, at least we'll be able to send the police to Spider Lady's hideout," Perry said pleased.

"Afraid not, Chief," Lois said.

"Why not? You were just there. You said so."

"But I couldn't see. I was blindfolded all the time and when they brought me out, I was unconscious."

"Some people have been able to give directions to a place even when they were taken there blindfolded."

"Sorry, but I'm not gifted that way."

"Well, it's too bad. It was a great opportunity to rid society of the Spider Lady."

"Maybe Clark and I can find her," Jimmy spoke up.

"Clark couldn't find his way in out of the rain," Lois said.

"Did someone say my name?" Clark asked, going into the office.

"It's safe enough for you now, Mr. Kent. The danger is past," Lois told him, sounding very annoyed.

"I'm glad to see you unharmed, Lois. I let Jimmy use the car, while I phoned the police."

"That's one way of avoiding danger," Lois said unimpressed.

"Oh, don't be like that, Lois," Jimmy said. "Clark did the best he could."

"Perhaps," Lois conceded. "While you were out looking for help, Superman came to my rescue."

"Superman? He's quite a chap. I'll make it up to you somehow, Lois," Clark said. "I can identify those 2 men who abducted you, if I see them again."

"Better leave that to Superman too," Lois said.

The phone rang interrupting Clark and Lois' argument.

The more Chloe learned about this Clark and Lois' relationship, the more confused she seemed to become. The Lois of her time knew Clark would go into the thick of danger for her, as she would for him. Superman canceled out the need for that in this time, so Lois thought this Clark was a coward, and cowardice wasn't a trait Lois respected. This Clark wanted her friendship but was finding it extremely difficult thanks to his alter ego. He wanted her approval. She also realized that the Clark of her time sought Lois' approval. She had been there during some of his rescues of her. Afterwards, he would look at Lois expectantly, wanting more than anything for her to praise him. Lois would usually have a sarcastic remark and if she hadn't already had the situation under control, she would act as if she had. Then Clark would look very disappointed. Lois seemed to fascinate him because she was the only damsel in distress he knew who didn't want to be one, and how could he be a white knight if the lady wouldn't cooperate? 'Minus the romantic connotations,' Chloe thought.

Then she figured out something really strange. The situations were reversed. 1940s Clark had her star struck admiration as Superman but not her friendship. Modern Clark had Lois' friendship but not her star struck admiration. He wanted, maybe even needed, both from her.


	8. Chapter 8

"White speaking," Perry said answering his phone. "Right."

He hung up and gave the direction to turn the police wavelength on.

"Attention, Superman. This is Spider Lady," she said, coming onto the wavelength. "Something of great importance to you will be stolen tonight from the Metropolis Museum. Nothing you can do will prevent it. I tell you this because I know your one weakness. You will not dare interfere with my plans."

She finished her speech, and Perry got on the phone. "Get me the chief of police."

"Sounds like a gag to me," Jimmy said.

Chloe wished it was. She knew Clark shouldn't have been so open with his secret. At least Spider Lady didn't reveal the secret.

"No, that was really the Spider Lady," Lois said. "I'll never forget that voice, but she must be crazy to challenge Superman this way."

"She claims she knows his one weakness," Clark said. "Maybe there is one thing he fears."

Chloe shook her head. There was more than one thing like magic, and you could probably add Lois Lane to the list.

"I suppose he's afraid you'll catch him," Lois snarked. "Superman will be there and so will I to cover this story."

Perry finally got through to the chief, but she couldn't listen because she could hear their footsteps heading toward the door. She figured though it was to confirm that the police would be there tonight. Chloe was going to have to be there too.

sss

Chloe watched Lois get pass the police guard with her press pass, something Chloe missed and wished she had herself. Press passes unlocked so many doors. Instead, she had to hope for an unlocked window, which she found. She worried that it was so easy for her though. That meant it wouldn't be hard for the crooks either. She locked and double checked the windows before tracking Lois down. Lois had an appointment with Professor Leads to wait for any action.

A lot of time passed. Chloe checked the window many many times. Just as it was beginning to seem like a false alarm, she heard a crash outside and went to the window to see what was going on. It didn't sound good. There were screams emitting from a badly crashed car. The cops guarding the museum ran to help, leaving the door unguarded. 2 guys in suits, which wasn't saying a lot as all the men seemed to wear suits in this time, ran to the door. They were obviously the bad guys.

Where was Clark during all this? He was no doubt fearful of the kryptonite, and Chloe was glad he was smart enough to stay away. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the car engulfed in flames, and the agonizing screams were hard to ignore. She was afraid for the woman screaming. She wondered if the poor woman was a victim used for distraction. She glanced back to the men who were still fiddling with a device to open the locked door. If she ran around hunting for a phone, the men breaking in might catch her.

Clark showed up to rescue the woman, and Chloe was relieved. The car was obviously too hot for the cops to handle. Clark's breath apparently froze the car. Chloe was amazed. This was a new power to her. He didn't find a woman though. Chloe shook her head when she saw that it was a record player. It had sounded realistic enough, but she had thought Clark's super hearing was sensitive enough to distinguish between a record and real screams. Apparently that wasn't the case. Chloe remembered the men and saw that they were no longer at the door. In fact, they were running out. Clark attempted to run after them, which Chloe figured couldn't be good as they obviously managed to steal the kryptonite.

Chloe ran to the office where Lois and the professor were. If she knew her cousin, she had probably found the men and gotten herself in some kind of trouble. Chloe heard her cousin scream, but before she got there, Clark did. He flew in through an open window. She'd forgotten to check that one, but it was in the professor's office where she couldn't have gone in, but they'd used the door anyway. There was the sound of the electrical device going. She peeked through the crack. The hose to the device was dancing wildly. Clark switched it off. He picked Lois up off the door and carried her to a chair.

Lois was awake now. "Superman, how can I ever thank you?"

"Don't try now. You'll be seeing me again. Up, up, and away," he said as he flew out the window.

Chloe rolled her eyes at the corny phrase. He sounded like Underdog, and the way they'd been flashing grins at each other, it was blatant flirting. She'd never seen anything like it, between Clark and Lois that is. She wondered if she was laying in a hospital somewhere dreaming all this up, but she knew it was too real for that.

Chloe went back to the Planet. She felt kind of useless. The only way she could think to help was her computer, and she didn't have one. Clark wasn't able to catch them because of the kryptonite. He probably felt a little useless right now too. As she was pondering this, Perry rang her. He wanted her to send in Clark. She called his desk and told him. There was some big story no doubt. She waited to do her usual eavesdropping, but there were too many reporters around.

Lois, whose desk was right beside Perry's office, asked Clark when he came back out, "What now, little man?"

"Oh, I'm on my way to make with a story," he answered her, resting his fists in her desk and leaning toward her.

"Some visiting fireman?"

"No, a departing fireman."

"Oh, that'll make a fine copy. Good luck."

"Thank you, Miss Lane."

He grabbed his hat and left. They'd had smiles plastered on their faces during the whole banter. Clark clearly got a kick out of her but knew better than to divulge a good story to her. Lois knew he wasn't going to tell her and hadn't seriously tried to get it out of him. She looked annoyed as he walked away.

Lois followed him and in a never ending circle of following, she followed Lois. Chloe had went out and brought her own car solely for this purpose. It was cheaper than all the taxis. Lois went to Hawkins. Chloe heard her shout, "Were you talking to Clark Kent?"

"No, he was talking to me," Hawkins answered wisely.

"What did he want to know?" Lois asked.

"He wanted to know about Dr. Hackett."

"What about him?"

Chloe had read an article about Dr. Hackett. He was some kind of evil, brilliant scientist.

"Didn't you know he escaped from the pen?"

"So that's it, Clark thought you might know where Hackett is. Do you?"

"I was thinking about getting something to eat," in a tone that said he did.

"I'll buy you the best meal you ever had. Come on. We'll take my car."

Chloe followed them to a restaurant called Luigi's Spaghetti. Hawkins said there was a sick man at a cabin that the Spider Lady's men were seen hanging around with but that he didn't know for sure if it was him.

Chloe immediately went to the cabin. Lois had to wait until he finished the meal.

She saw an ambulance that was stopped at the cabin. They brought out a man with his face bandaged and put him in it. It must've been Hackett. Chloe was going to follow the ambulance. As soon as it got on the road, Lois' car pulled up. She would figure out that Hackett wasn't there soon enough. Chloe caught up with the ambulance.

The ambulance came to a stop, and the 2 men pulled out the bandaged man and started beating him up. They pushed the man off the cliff. Chloe waited until the ambulance pulled away and started to get out to see if she could help, but it turned out to be Clark. He flew off.

Lois' car drove by. A man was holding a gun on her. He must have been the real Hackett. Clark probably tied him up at the cabin, and Lois unwittingly freed him. They were struggling. Lois wasn't being very cooperative in typical Lois fashion, even with a gun aimed at her head. The man knocked her out and jumped from the car, leaving her to fall off the cliff. There was nothing for Chloe to do but hope Clark would make it in time like he usually did.


	9. Chapter 9

Clark grabbed her car just in time. Chloe wondered if Clark just kept his ears trained on her 24/7 because Lois was in danger 24/7. He opened the car door and flew off with her. Lois hadn't regained consciousness yet, but Chloe wasn't worried. Her cousin had proven time and time again that she had a hard head.

Chloe went back to the Planet where Lois, Clark, and Jimmy were talking to Perry about the incident.

"And when I came to, I was in the doctor's office," Lois said.

"And Dr. Hackett is no doubt with the Spider Lady helping to menace society," Perry said angrily.

Chloe thought Perry could be a little more understanding and thankful that Lois was okay even if she had helped Hackett escape. Clark had no doubt left him bound and gagged in the cabin when he took his place, but what was Lois supposed to do when she saw a man tied up but help him. It was in her nature, along with being too competitive, particularly when she was competing against Clark, but she was sure Lois felt bad.

"I warned you not to get any wild ideas, but you did!" Perry shouted, apparently directing his wrath on Clark. "And you not only mucked up this story but you lost Hackett."

"But I did have him," Clark insisted. "I tied him up and locked him in the closet."

"Clark's right, Chief. It was my fault that Hackett got away. I untied him."

Chloe was proud of her cousin. You could always depend on Lois to be honest and take the rap for her mistakes when it counted.

"Perhaps someday I'll find out what really happened. Now get out all of you and find Hackett, and don't come back until you do."

That was Chloe's cue to get back to her desk. She jumped a little, as the whole newsroom heard Perry shout sharply, "Get out! All of you!"

They all came out with long faces and headed for their respective desks.

Clark smiled, as he turned around to go to Lois' desk. "Oh, thanks for going to bat for me," he said, as he sat down on her desk. He was clearly hoping she'd done it because she liked him.

Lois flashed him back a smile. "Even though I struck out?" Then she lowered her eyes apologetically.

"You tried," he said, hoping to make her feel better.

"So did you."

Chloe couldn't restrain a smile. They could be so sweet with each other sometimes in their own little way. It made her wonder if it was more than friendship even in her time. Chloe was a bit of a romantic, and the Clark/Lois romance was starting to appeal to her. They were a fun couple. She'd given up on herself and Clark a long time ago.

"But let me on it next time," Lois said good-naturedly but seriously.

"Well, it's still a question of finding the Spider Lady's hideout."

"Daily Planet," Chloe said, answering one of the lights.

"Is this Gloria Roberts?"

"Yes."

"This is George Allen, the private detective you hired."

"Right. So do you have the information for me?"

"I'm sorry ma'am. I've spent 2 weeks on this case. I've done some very thorough research. There is no such person as this Chloe Sullivan. Now I did find a 40 year-old Chloe Sullivan, but she's a redhead from Ireland. I'm guessing she's not the one."

"No, she's not. Thank you for your time. You'll be getting your check in the mail."

She hung up the phone. She couldn't believe it. She didn't exist in 1948. She wasn't going to be born until 1987. It hurt a little, and it was strange. She had just found out she was a young person among some very old people.

Lois was walking by her desk. "Are you okay, Gloria? You don't look so good."

Chloe looked up at her still in shock. Could she even call this woman cousin anymore? Did Lois get new cousins every decade? "Um, I'm fine. I just haven't had my lunch yet."

"You might want to eat then," Lois said, going back to her desk.

Chloe took a deep breath. It was going to be fine. She was a valid person; she just hadn't been created yet. It was the way it was supposed to be. This was some alternate world or weird eternally young syndrome. It wasn't the norm to have past selves. She was the norm, minus the meteor power of course.

Clark went home for the day and while he was away his phone rang. Lois and Jimmy both tried to get it, but Lois got to it first.

"City Room…Clark Kent isn't here. Who wants him?…You can give it to me, and I'll see that he gets it."

Chloe doubted that if it had to do with a story, especially a lead on Hackett.

"Where do you want him to meet you? In the park?…Yes, I've got it. I'll tell him. Thanks, Hawkins."

Chloe shook her head in disbelief. Was he the only informant in this time, and how did he get all this information? Hawkins could probably get himself a job as a reporter if he wanted it. It'd be nice to know his secret.

"Look, you better take me with you. You might need help," Jimmy said.

"Maybe I'd better," Lois agreed. "That park is a lonely place at night."

"I still say it's a dirty trick to play on Clark," Jimmy said, folding his arms.

"He's got it coming," Lois answered. "He played the same trick on me."

"Just where in the park are you going to meet him?"

"At the big tree near the first crossroads inside the Western Avenue entrance."

They both hurried out. Chloe quickly scribbled the info on a piece of paper, in case she got behind in following them. Chloe got there just in time to see an unconscious Jimmy being shoved into a car and hear Lois shouting, "Jimmy!"

Lois ran for her car to follow them. Chloe got back in her car to follow too. Lois got a flat, and Chloe lost the trail. Chloe figured it must have been a trap for Clark. When Chloe got back, it appeared Lois had already told Clark, and they were sitting at Clark's desk, waiting for his phone to ring.

"Clark Kent speaking," Clark said, answering the phone. "Who is this?…How am I going to do that?"

Lois had gotten off the chair and was straining to listen to the other end.

"First you have to prove that you really have Jimmy."

Lois had tried to take the phone away from him, but he had lightly slapped her hand away, making her mad. Chloe would have chuckled if she hadn't been worried about Jimmy.

"Alright. Where?…I'll be in there in 10 minutes…Right. I'll be there alone."

"So they've captured Jimmy hoping to lead Superman to a trap," Lois said, heading back for her desk. "How do they expect to trap Superman?"

Clark looked a little nervous and then answered, "They may have an ingenious weapon."

"What are we going to do?" Lois asked.

"We can't do anything, but I can go size up the situation."

"I'm going with you," Lois said stubbornly.

"No, that'd spoil everything. Nobody'd show up if 2 of us were seen."

"Alright," Lois said, giving in suspiciously quick.

Clark seemed satisfied and went off. Then true to form Lois followed Clark. Chloe sighed. She'd just gotten back, and now it was time to do some more following. It was lucky gas was relatively inexpensive.

Chloe made it in time to see a man driving away with Clark in the car. Lois saw too and looked worried because she didn't know that Clark could handle himself and was only faking being overpowered. Chloe wished she could tell Lois that it was going to okay, but she couldn't. Lois went for help, and Chloe went back to the Planet to await news. There was only so long a person could pretend to be in the bathroom without their boss getting suspicious.


	10. Chapter 10

Chloe missed all the action, but apparently Lois had been able to locate Clark and Jimmy. She used a police whistle to scare the men away, but she was sure Clark had things under control beforehand. She was just glad Jimmy was okay.

When Jimmy came through the door, Chloe jumped up and hugged him in relief. Jimmy was surprised at first and then asked her out to have coffee. Chloe was tempted to accept, but it wasn't her Jimmy. She still had hopes of getting back to her life, although that hope was growing dimmer all the time, but she still did her research at the library. Jimmy looked disappointed. Clark and Lois smiled and urged Jimmy forward to Perry's office. Chloe listened in as usual.

"I did learn one thing," Clark offered. "I gathered from what one of the men said that Dr. Hackett's working on a plan to steal the reducer ray."

"That's a big order since the government is guarding it," Perry said.

"And so is Superman," Lois added.

"That wouldn't stop the Spider Lady," said Clark. "She's a dangerous opponent now that she holds the kryptonite."

Chloe had to agree as she went back to her desk. Somebody had to get that kryptonite away from Spider Lady.

The next day Clark as Superman was called to Washington to help move the reducer ray to Metropolis University for experiments. They published it in the paper. They used it to try and draw out Spider Lady. It brought out 2 men who were captured by Superman. They thought it was in a car, but it was just a decoy. It was really on a train. Spider Lady learned that, and 2 more of her men tried to blow the train off the tracks, so they could get it. Clark/Superman literally stopped the train by putting his hands out before it got to the spot. The train men got away but not the car men. Chloe wasn't there to see any of this. It was all in the paper afterwards. She wished she could have been a part of the action and from the sound of it Lois did too.

"I'd like to know how you got that story about Superman stopping a train. There's something very fishy about you being at the exact spot," Lois said.

Chloe smiled. Lois was sharp. Sometimes she wondered if Lois suspected that Clark was Superman. She wondered if modern Lois suspected Clark had a secret.

"I guess I'm just lucky."

"You're more than lucky. Sometimes I-I'd like to-"

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it if these breaks come my way."

"I'd like to give you a break. Preferably a leg or an arm."

Chloe doubted that was proper talk for a lady of the 1940s. She doubted her swearing like a sailor was proper either, as she sometimes did, but she bet it was also the reason Perry had felt confident enough hiring her in a dangerous profession and why Clark aka Superman had taken a shine to her.

"Oh, quit it, Lois," Perry said. "Now here's a break for you."

"What is it?" Lois asked.

"Dr. Graham is coming here to experiment with his reducer ray. I want you to meet him, escort him to the university, and get an exclusive."

"Well, that helps some," Lois said.

Chloe shook her head in amusement as she went back to her desk. Lois could try the patience of saints. Clark was either a saint or in love, as he came out with a smile on his face after that conversation and even looking at Lois with admiration, when she wasn't looking.

Chloe thought it would be fun to tag along after Lois and see if Met U looked any different, and Lois always got in a ton of trouble even it was supposed to be an easy, risk-free story. It never hurt to have backup.

Out on the road, Chloe noticed she wasn't the only one following Lois. The woman looked familiar, but she couldn't place her. She almost looked like Lois. She had to let her go first. She ended up following the Lois look-alike as she couldn't even see Lois' car.

Chloe slowed a little when she saw Lois' car on the side of the road. She'd been in an accident. Someone had rear ended her. She looked fine. She was outside her car with folded arms talking to the men who'd hit her car. The woman who'd been following Lois was gone. Chloe figured it wise to continue to the airport where Lois was supposed to meet the doctor.

The lady was outside and introduced herself as 'Lois Lane of the Daily Planet.' She recognized the voice. It was Spider Lady.

"I've been looking for you," Dr. Graham said.

"I'm to drive you to the university and get an interview on the way. Shall we go?"

"By all means."

Chloe had to call and alert the police, but by the time she did, they would get away. She decided to follow them instead, but it was just her luck that her car wouldn't start. "Clark! Superman!" She didn't think it would work, but she figured she might as well give it a shot, as it always seemed to work for Lois.

Chloe was about to get out of her car and call a tow company when the real Lois showed up looking for Dr. Graham. 2 men talked to her. Chloe couldn't hear what they were saying from inside her car, but she was learning that when 2 men were there it never seemed to be a good thing. Lois took them to her car. One of the men looked like Dr. Graham, but he couldn't be. Maybe they'd seen what happened or Lois was giving them a ride.

A sudden flash caught her attention. Jimmy was hiding between the cars and took a picture with his big bulky camera. It made a loud noise and a big flash, but the others didn't notice. She got Jimmy's attention. He didn't ask what she was doing here but proceeded to take a look at her car when she told him it wouldn't start. He was able to fix it. She thanked him and then hurried to Met U.

You couldn't drive to that part of the university unless you had a pass, so Chloe snuck in on foot. The place didn't look much different, maybe a little newer. She could see a building that must have gotten torn down and a couple places where the buildings hadn't been built yet. She wondered if this was where Lois had gone and successfully completed a degree in this time period. She was just in time to see them go into the science building.

When Chloe snuck in, she heard Lois asking. "Didn't you invent the reducer ray?"

"Well, certainly. Why do you ask?"

"Then why are you photographing it?"

"I'm very much interested in the technique used to install it here."

That was a load of crap. They were Spider Lady's men.

"I see a new wire plane is being used," he said, trying to sound technical.

Lois seemed to fall for it, or at least there was a lengthy pause.

"Well, Dr. Graham, I have all I need to know," Lois said. "I better hurry back to the office and write my story."

"Thank you. Good bye, Miss Lane."

Chloe had to hide outside in the bushes because of Lois, but she didn't come out. She must have suspected that something was wrong and took Chloe's hiding spot. There had been a phone in that area. She hoped Lois wasn't going to use it to alert the police or the imposters might hear. It was a rotary phone and had an annoying clacking noise every time you moved it.

The men came out, but Lois didn't. That confirmed it. She'd been caught and was probably tied up in there. Just as she was about to go in and free her, Clark as Superman rushed in there and beat her to it.


	11. Chapter 11

There was the sound of an explosion, but Chloe wasn't worried. Clark would shield Lois. A cop went in and Superman came out with Lois in his arms. He seemed to enjoy carrying her every chance he got. He stuck her in the Daily Planet car, while she was unconscious, and then changed into his regular clothes. He drove off with her. Clark probably wanted her to think of him as a bit of a hero when she woke up, but Chloe thought there was little chance of that happening.

Chloe went back to the Daily Planet and listened in on Clark and Lois reporting in to Perry.

"Hackett and the other man tried to wreck the reducer ray before they left," Lois explained, "but Superman got there in time or so Clark tells me. When I came to, I was in the car with Clark."

"How did you get there so fast?" Perry asked him.

"I really made time," Clark said.

"Well, you certainly left here fast enough," Perry said.

"Have you any idea where Graham is?" Clark asked Lois.

"The fact that Hackett was impersonating Graham suggests that Spider Lady does."

"The same familiar problem," Clark said, "finding her."

"I've sent Jimmy out to the university to follow up on it," Perry said. "Now you two get busy on your story."

Chloe went back to her desk. It all lead back to Spider Lady. Maybe she couldn't get back to her time until she was defeated. Chloe started getting worried about Jimmy. He was taking a long time getting back. The university wasn't that far away, and there wasn't much to follow up on. Perry was apparently worried too. He asked her if Jimmy had phoned in yet and then told her to send in Clark. Clark came out of Perry's office looking concerned.

The telephone company called and wanted to speak to the editor, so she put them through to Perry and then Perry wanted Clark and Lois. He told them there was some sort of electrical disturbance messing up the lines. They didn't know what it was. He wanted Clark and Lois to get the story.

Clark started to say something, but Lois interrupted, "Okay, Chief," and dragged Clark out by the hand to which the man of steel surrendered. Chloe couldn't help but shake her head. He was the man of jello around Lois, as she dragged him all the way out to the car and he never said a word. He just let himself get lead off without asking his question by the impatient Lois. Chloe followed them.

They went to question a telephone repairman. The man passed a pair of headphones to Lois, who then passed it to Clark. Clark said he thought it was a coded message about Jimmy and Dr. Graham. Clark and Lois got back in the car, and Chloe rolled her window back up and followed. They went to another telephone man who had some equipment to help. Lois took a huge walkie-talkie and some other kind of machine. It was apparently supposed to help locate where the sound was coming from. Clark didn't look thrilled that Lois was doing it. Even though Chloe couldn't hear from her position it was clear that he was a little worried and was warning her to be careful. Lois just smiled and said something sarcastic and got back in the car. Clark was staying with the telephone man and the other weird devices.

Chloe figured it best to follow Lois. That was always where the danger was. Danger followed Lois like a magnet. It seemed Clark was giving her instructions on the walkie-talkie which was longer than Lois' head and floppy hat combined and almost as thick. It looked like a cell phone for a giant. Chloe still hadn't gotten used to all the old technology. She was led to a place in the city. Lois got out and went into the building.

Chloe waited for her to come out, but she heard a small explosion. These Lois-in-peril-situations were almost becoming ridiculous and predictable. She looked up in the sky for Superman to come swooping in. Clark came in his Superman costume, and Lois was predictably unconscious and had to be carried out. Chloe almost wondered if she was faking it, so Superman would carry her, but Lois wasn't that kind of girl.

Back at the office, Chloe eavesdropped for the millionth time as Perry got an explanation from Clark and Lois and thankfully Jimmy.

"You get yourselves in all kinds of trouble," Perry said, "but I can't print that."

"You mean the public isn't interested in what happens to reporters?" Lois replied sarcastically.

"Nobody is except me. I want to keep you all alive, so I can find out where Dr. Graham is," Perry said.

"That's easy," Clark said. "He's a prisoner of the Spider Lady."

"Now if you'll just tell me where, I'll know everything," Perry said.

"Well, wherever he is, you can bet Graham won't get another chance to communicate with us," Jimmy said.

"Oh, sooner or later the Spider Lady will make a move that will give her away," Clark said optimistically, "and we've just got to keep an eye out for it."

"Clark, you've just solved the whole thing for us," Lois said in her usual sarcastic tone.

Chloe hoped that it was soon. She was becoming more and more convinced that it all tied back to Spider Lady, although she wasn't completely sure why. She went back to her desk and a call came in for Perry. Then Perry wanted Clark. It must have had to do with the story. Lois' curiosity was sparked too. Clark left the door open, and Lois obviously heard it. She pretended to type at a high speed when Clark came out, which should have been suspicious to him because Lois wasn't the fastest typer in the world. She was always complaining that the keys weren't in alphabetical order.

Clark grabbed his hat to go but then his phone rang. He stopped to answer it. Lois took the time to march into Perry's office, and she slammed to door behind her, which didn't bode well for Perry. The shut door didn't muffle the voices.

"Don't I work here anymore?" Lois asked.

"Sure, Sure. What's the trouble?"

"Why should Clark have that Graham story exclusively? Maybe I can uncover a different angle."

"Stop selling me. You can go along if you want."

"Thanks, Chief."

Clark was still too busy with his phone conversation to have paid any attention. Lois took his hat and threw it across the room without his knowledge and snuck out with a grin on her face. She tapped Jimmy on the shoulder. She obviously hadn't completely warmed up to Clark yet. She told Jimmy to wait for her downstairs. Then Lois came to Chloe's desk.

"Gloria, can you report that my car has been stolen? You know the license number."

Chloe nodded and then did it. Lois left in a hurry. She had a feeling Lois was up to something, but maybe it really had been stolen. She snorted. No, she was definitely up to something.

Clark finished up his phone conversation and then frantically searched for his hat. 'Apparently it's illegal to be outside without one,' Chloe thought with amusement. Clark had crawled up under a desk, and Chloe stopped to watch, curious at his antics. He spotted her feet and then stood up bashfully. Chloe had her hands on her hips, a little amused and a lot puzzled. He was crazy.

Clark said one simple word in response, "Hat," and then dashed out. The times were crazy. She watched out the window. Clark called out as Lois was speeding away. "Hey, I need that car!"

She stopped and smiled, "Sorry, use mine. It's in the alley," and she tossed him the keys, which Clark took. It suddenly became all too clear. Lois was trouble, and Clark should have been suspicious of her generosity. Normally she wouldn't let anyone but herself drive it. Clark was in trouble, but he got away before Chloe could alert him. He was going to get arrested for sure. It was too late to follow Lois or Clark. She would have to hear the news secondhand as often happened these days.

She asked Perry where they were going. It was a place that supplied chemicals. Some men had asked for a chemical that was used to make the reducer ray, and it was marked right now for that very reason. It could lead to Graham, who was being held captive to make another reducer ray. Chloe decided she'd better go there after all. If Clark really was in jail, somebody needed to keep an eye on Lois.

When she got to the supplier, there was a big box with monochromaite, the chemical in question, written on it. Apparently Jimmy had gotten the brilliant idea to get in it and see where Graham was himself. Lois asked Jimmy why they couldn't just follow them in the car. He said they'd have to stay too far back and they might lose them.

The men showed up. Chloe hid in the hallway closet. Lois had been advised to get in the closet in the office. Jimmy got in the box, and of course, the chemical supply man didn't have to hide. He tried to get a signature from them, but they knocked him out.

"Wait a minute," one of the guys said. Those were never good words coming from a bad guy, especially when people were hiding. There was complete silence for a little while, also not good.

"Well, well," said the same man who'd said 'wait a minute'.

"It's that newspaper gal," said the other one.

"What are you dong here, sister?" said bad guy number one.

"Oh nothing," Lois said. "As a matter of fact, I just got here."

"Well, as a matter of fact, you can just stay here."

They locked her up in the safe and took off with boxed Jimmy. Chloe tried to get out to help, but she was trapped in the closet. They hadn't seen the need to put a knob on the other side. She was nervous. Lois had to be running out of oxygen and Clark was in jail. Even if Chloe managed to get out of the closet, she didn't know how to open the safe.


	12. Chapter 12

She heard someone running in and pulling off the safe door. Only one person could do that she thought, breathing a sigh of relief. Lois and the chemical engineer regained consciousness, and Lois told Superman what happened and how Jimmy was in the box.

"Take care of her," Clark said and then he flew out the window.

Lois said she was fine and insisted on leaving. Once she left, Chloe hollered for help, and the man let her out.

"Wrong door," she said and then hurried off before he could question her.

Chloe caught up on what happened as usual by listening in on the conversation in Perry's office.

"The woman's touch you were to apply wasn't so effective," Perry was saying to Lois. "It only caught 2 underprivileged characters, who hardly know their own name."

"Don't I even get credit for a good try?" Lois asked.

"No, Jimmy gets that even though it didn't pan out and as for you," Perry said, addressing Clark, "you picked a fine time to land in jail."

"I shouldn't have taken Lois' car," Clark said.

That sealed it. Lois was the reason he went to jail. She played a very dirty trick on him, and he didn't even pin any of the blame on her when he had an opportunity. He wasn't only in love, he was head over heels in love.

"Well, one thing we can be sure of is that Spider Lady still needs that mineral," Perry said. "We must watch for further attempts to get it."

Later, Perry got Lois to cover a murder story that might be linked to the monochromite. Chloe followed her to the place and watched as Lois pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and picked the lock to a mining office that she wasn't supposed to be in. She found a map that told where the monochromite was, but before she got out, 2 of Spider Lady's men broke in too. Chloe hoped she had found a place to hide. She'd found one in a supply closet in the hallway and this time she made sure there was a knob on the other side. Lois hid out on the window ledge, but they found her and thankfully pulled her back in, instead of pushing her off. They found the map on her. She used the diamond ring she wore to write the location on the glass, which Chloe thought was pretty clever on her part. She tried to run for the door, and they knocked her out. If Lois had a dime for every time she's been knocked out, she'd be a very rich woman. They rolled her up in a rug and started to take off with her. Chloe had to get involved this time, but one of the men pushed her against the wall, and she slipped out of consciousness.

When she woke up, she found herself in the closet. She heard Clark and Jimmy bumbling around in the mining office. Clark was able to find the question mark and cross Lois had left on the glass and Clark figured out that it stood for the mine Question Crossing.

Chloe went there too after she took a couple minutes to gain her bearings. She felt like an observer instead of a participant. She wasn't used to feeling this way. It was disconcerting.

When she arrived, she was just in time to see Jimmy get knocked out by one of Spider Lady's men, and the 2 henchmen took off. Clark and Lois were inside the mine, and she followed. She saw that Clark was removing the ropes that Lois was tied up with. They stood up and looked around. Lois said something about not having enough time. Clark and Lois were handcuffed together. It would have been a funny predicament if it wasn't a bad situation. There was suddenly a loud explosion; explosions seemed to be another fairly common occurrence in this time. The exit might have gotten blocked, but Clark could get them out. She didn't know how he was going to do it though with Lois handcuffed to him. She took a quick peek and saw that Lois had been knocked unconscious. She should have known. Clark took the opportunity to uncuff himself from Lois and change into Superman. He checked Lois out and then made a hole to the outside by running through the natural wall. He carried Lois out. It was too late to go after the bad guys. He handcuffed himself back to Lois, a situation he was no doubt enjoying.

Lois woke up, "How did we get here?"

"Superman got us out through the hole he made in the side of that hill."

"He's wonderful, isn't he, Clark?" Lois asked like a lovesick teenager.

"I guess so," Clark said unenthusiastically.

Chloe smiled. It was a terrible thing to be jealous of yourself.

"You guess so?" Lois snapped.

Lois didn't like it when people badmouthed or were not behind Superman a 100 percent. When people were still leery of Superman in his newness and difference, Lois had been his strongest supporter. She said his actions proved that he was trustworthy from day one.

Lois examined her wrists. "Say, weren't these handcuffs on the other hand before?"

Chloe carefully peered through the hole that Clark had made. They had been on the other side before. Lois had an eye for details like that. Chloe wondered how he was going to talk his way out of that one.

"I guess that blow on the head has got you confused a little."

Clark looked a little nervous and fiddled with his glasses. If he kept playing with his glasses every time he lied, Lois would catch on eventually.

"Well, maybe," Lois said, although she didn't look totally convinced.

Jimmy came running up to the handcuffed duo. "Clark! Lois! Am I glad to see you. What happened?"

"We'll tell you about that later." Clark said. "First, let's get to someone who can get these handcuffs off."

"Say, you and Lois are really attached to each other, aren't you?" Jimmy said with a smile.

He never could resist a pun. Clark looked amused and Lois just looked annoyed. Chloe found it interesting that neither one answered Jimmy's question, particularly Lois. Chloe was disappointed that she couldn't go with them. It would have been funny to watch Lois complain about her and Clark's close proximity.


	13. Chapter 13

Chloe eavesdropped when they got back and turned in their story. Perry applauded them on getting a front page story about Spider Lady's men murdering the mining engineer for monochromite.

"We may have got the story, but they got the monochromite," Clark said.

"Which proves that the Spider Lady is trying to duplicate the relativity reducer ray," Lois said.

"Yeah," Jimmy echoed. "Graham, the guy who invented the ray, is her prisoner."

"Graham is an honorable scientist," Perry said. "He knows the ray is more powerful than the atom bomb. He'll never cooperate with her."

"Unless Spider Lady has some scheme in mind to force him," Clark said.

Chloe just hoped all this Spider Lady stuff was over soon.

"Kent, here's an exclusive for you and Jimmy, a modern science layout for the ray machine."

"You mean they'll let us examine it?" Clark asked.

"Of course not. I mean photograph the outside of the building. Jimmy, you'll handle the camera. Kent, you'll write the captions, okay?"

"Where do I come in?" Lois asked.

"You don't," Perry said. "I need an article for the women's page. Dream up a new way to cook a roast or toss a salad."

Chloe barely kept from snorting. Perry had obviously never seen or tasted Lois' attempts in the kitchen. It would have been better to put Clark on that one or even Jimmy. She pitied the women who tried out Lois' recipe.

"How thrilling," Lois said sarcastically.

"Cook up something good, and I'll go for it," Clark said teasingly. From the amusement he had in his voice he'd had her cooking at some point in this time, but he probably would eat it. He'd been the only one to brave her Thanksgiving pie. Everyone else just crumbled it up to make it look like they'd eaten some.

"Anytime, Mr. Kent. Just name your poison."

Chloe laughed on her way back to her desk. Her cooking alone was poison.

A little later in the day, Superman dropped one of Spider Lady's men in Perry's office, so he could question him and then turn him over to the police. Chloe wondered why Perry didn't find that a little strange. Chloe certainly did. Clark came out of the storage room in his regular clothes. It seemed to be one of his favorite places to change.

Spider Lady's henchman came hurling out of the newsroom, where Clark proceed to tackle him and punch him senseless. He told Lois that he was going to make sure Perry was okay. Perry was dangling from the ledge. Clark had to pull him back in.

The next day, Perry called in his favorite 3 reporters to tell them Spider Lady's henchman still wasn't talking even while he was in jail. They speculated about why Spider Lady hadn't done anything to try and rescue him, Perry said it was because the jail was too heavily guarded.

Lois and Jimmy went out for lunch. Chloe heard a big commotion outside and ran to the window to see what was going on. Lois had spotted and tackled Hackett. The police took him away. Chloe couldn't help but wonder why he'd been stupid enough to walk right in front of the Planet.

Lois and Jimmy went to cover it at the jail and wait for a confession. Chloe used her lunch break to go down there and wait too. They'd put Spider Lady's men together in the same cell.

Dr. Hackett dropped a cigarette out the window and a man picked it up. Jimmy got out of the car like he was checking the engine and then grabbed the man who'd picked it up and pushed him against the car. Lois got out too. Jimmy held him while Lois took the cigarette out of the man's pocket. There was a message inside of it. The man said he was getting paid 5 bucks to deliver it to North Boulevard and that's all he knew. They believed him and let him go. It was a coded message, so they couldn't read it. Jimmy decided he was going to deliver the message, and Lois was going to stick around the jail.

Chloe didn't know which one to follow. They both got in trouble constantly, but Chloe decided on sticking with Lois. She seemed to get in a tad more trouble, and if anybody could find a way to get in peril in a building full of cops, it was Lois.

Chloe followed her inside and sat down on the bench and covered her face with a paper to hide herself from Lois. After a little waiting, Lois called Clark on the phone.

"I'm in jail," she joked. "No, not really, just visiting. Have you had any word from Jimmy?" She told him how Jimmy had delivered the coded message in hopes of figuring out what it was about and then gave him the address.

Chloe realized her hunch had been wrong. Jimmy seemed to be the one in danger, but Clark would save him. Lois went to talk to the prisoners.

"Hello, boys. Comfortable?" Lois said, trying to bate them into saying something.

"Why look, we have a guest," Dr. Hackett said. "Now ain't we lucky? You didn't happen to bring a cake with you?"

"Cake with a file? No," she answered. "Maybe if you boys play ball with the press, I could help you out a bit."

"Where have I heard that before?" the other man replied.

"Don't you gals ever know when to give up?" Hackett said. "Go on. Beat it."

"You're not being very cooperative," Lois said, sounding annoyed.

"I said beat it," Dr. Hackett repeated.

Lois started to walk away, but there was suddenly a huge light and crackling. Chloe knew that couldn't be good. Lois was knocked unconscious, and Superman picked her up and flew her outside, while the prisoners called out for help. Chloe was far enough away that what appeared to be the reducer ray in action wouldn't hurt her, but she couldn't bare to watch them die. She ran outside along with some of the cops.

Superman had placed an awake Lois on the stairs. He rested his hand on her shoulder and asked if she was alright. She said she was, and he told her to go back to the Daily Planet. He then went back to check the damages. The men were dead, killed by the reducer ray.


	14. Chapter 14

Chloe eavesdropped when she got back to the Planet on what must have been the billionth conversation on the Spider Lady situation. It basically boiled down to the Spider Lady had a working ray machine and that wasn't good, nothing Chloe didn't already know.

She went back to work. The police chief called a little later and wanted to be put through to Perry. Then Perry wanted her to send in Lane, Kent, and Jimmy. Chloe sent herself too, right to the door, so she could hear.

"We're to hear from the Spider Lady," Perry said. "The police chief just phoned in and said to expect a flash."

"Attention, police," said Spider Lady's voice on the police wavelength. "Attention, Daily Planet. This is an ultimatum from the Spider Lady. I have perfected the reducer ray machine. So that you'll have proof, the Daily Planet building will be destroyed."

Chloe felt a wave of nausea pass over her.

"This will demonstrate that I defy the newspaper that allies Superman. The hour of destruction will be 3:00 this afternoon."

Perry switched it off. "3:00. It's now 11:20."

"Do you think she really means it, Chief?" Lois asked.

"I don't know, but if she does, we have less than 4 hours. I'll check back with the police."

"There's only one chance," Clark said, "that conversation recorded by the police between her men in the jail cell."

"Unfortunately that record was completely shattered by the jail blast," Perry said.

"There goes that," Lois said, and they stopped talking. She hurried back to her desk.

Lois, Clark, and Jimmy sat down at their respective desks and thought about the situation.

"I'm going to out for awhile," Clark said.

"Things may pop here," Lois said.

"Uh, I'll be back in time. I just want to get the reaction of the man on the street when the news is flashed."

He put on his hat and took off. Lois looked thoughtful and then started typing. It was amazing how much faster she could go on a typewriter compared to a computer. It must've been because she'd had a class on it in college.

Chloe thought about the Daily Planet getting demolished, but it couldn't have because it existed in her time. However, the architecture did look different. Maybe they'd had to rebuild. She sort of wished she'd studied Daily Planet history in her time, but it had to be a different continuum because the names Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane wouldn't show up.

Perry called Lois and Jimmy back in to tell them they couldn't print the news because he didn't want to start a panic.

Superman flew in through the window. "I understand you want the Hackett conversation. I have the broken record."

They'd recorded the conversation on an actual record, but then what else could they use in 1948? Superman sounded excited as he explained, "I believe I can read the impression on this record and reconstruct the broken pieces."

Chloe couldn't see what he did to it, but he said at last, "I believe you can play that."

Perry had a record player in his office. Chloe could faintly hear the record but not enough to make out what they were saying.

"I'll make some copies of this for you," Lois said.

Apparently she had been writing down what they were saying. Chloe scurried back to her desk, and Clark came back as Clark. Lois had been typing out copies. Chloe bet she would be excited to learn about scanners when they were invented. She typed fast though. Clark was standing over her shoulder watching. She handed him one of the copies. Lois could type out multiple copies of the conversation almost faster than Clark could put his clothes back on. They went back into Perry's office.

"There seems to be little of value in this conversation," Perry said, after he looked it over.

"There's one phrase that references dog's eye," Clark said.

"What does it mean?" Jimmy asked

"We'll have to figure that out," Clark answered.

"It's almost 12:00," Perry said. "I'll rush a copy of this to police chief."

Chloe went back to her desk. She bet they'd be excited to learn about a modern fax machine too. She really missed technology. She didn't even have a TV. Only movies were available right now. TVs were rare and expensive. Clark was all alone in Perry's office now. She wondered what he was doing in there.

"Hey, Lois!" Jimmy cried. He came running over with a long strip of paper from the Hellschreiber, a precursor to the modern fax machine. "Listen to this. City News Service. Automobile drivers report that cars traveling between Mt. Laird and Mt. Dickens along Foothill Road are burning out ignition systems. No explanation is offered, but Highway Patrol is investigating." He had to pull the strip of paper along as he was reading.

"Jimmy, do you know what that means?" Lois asked excitedly.

"What?"

"The ray machine could certainly take out electric systems."

"Do you suppose that's it?"

"Well, it's a chance. Let's follow it up."

"What's the pitch?" Jimmy asked.

"We'll pick up the Daily Planet's plane and cruise over the area."

Chloe couldn't follow a plane. Apparently Jimmy was going to fly it. This was a talent Chloe didn't know he had. She didn't think it was smart. If it could mess up a car, it could mess up a plane, even if they were high up in the air. She knew there was no talking them out of it though.

She strolled over to the office and saw that Clark was doodling and playing with different ideas about dog's eye. He suddenly stood up and turned a map of the area that was hanging on the wall upside down. It made it look like the shape of a dog and a certain mine looked like an eye.

Chloe got there as fast as she could, but of course, Superman had beaten her there because he had an advantage, but he had been knocked out by the kryptonite. The man at the mine was putting him in his car. Chloe followed him to the Spider Lady's hideout. She took the familiar spot in the stairway. She didn't know how he was going to get his way out of this one or how she could help.

"So Superman has come to the end of the trail," Spider Lady said smugly.

The man threw him down on the floor. Jimmy and Lois, who'd gotten captured as well, watched from the couch they were sitting on with worried expressions.

"And to be sure he remains helpless, I'll keep this kryptonite ready," she said, sitting it down on the top of her desk. "It's 3:00."

One of her men went over to the ray machine where Dr. Graham was. "Is the machine beamed on the Daly Planet building?" he asked.

Graham didn't answer and the man grabbed him. "Well, is it?"

"Yes, it is," Dr. Graham said, "but you're not going to activate it."

"That's what you think," said the man, throwing him against the wall.

Jimmy stood up to help.

"Don't move one step further," Spider Lady said, pulling out a gun.

Dr. Graham got back up and went to pull him away from the machine. Clark stood up with a smile.

"You didn't succumb to the kryptonite," Spider Lady said, surprised.

"I expected you to have it handy," he answered. "I'm wearing a lining of lead under my uniform."

Chloe didn't think he should reveal that, but he must've known what he was doing.

"You're lying," she said.

"I was only pretending to be vulnerable. I was sure I'd be brought here. What you thought was my weakness turned out to be your undoing. Spider Lady, you're finished."

Chloe rolled her eyes at the theatrical speech. That costume was going to his head.

Spider Lady told her henchman to turn the ray machine on him, but of course, it didn't work because he was invulnerable. Dr. Graham managed to knock the man away and then he turned the machine on Spider Lady, who was trying to escape. She let out a horrible scream as it destroyed her.

Chloe didn't think it was right. Yes, she was a cold-blooded killer, who'd killed her own men in the same way, but Clark didn't usually stand for letting anyone die if he could help it. The henchman was back on his feet and he and Dr. Graham were struggling. Jimmy rushed to his defense and knocked the henchman out.

Superman told Lois, "Get that man to the police and turn the reducer ray over to the proper authorities, and I'll round up the others."

Chloe couldn't help but feel a little jealous in that moment. Lois and Jimmy combined had her role as 'sidekick', a role that predated her apparently. Superman suddenly rushed by her, and she pressed herself against the wall. He'd caught her this time for sure, but he didn't even seem to notice her. Her hair just blew out of place.

Clark went back to the Daily Planet and to the office, where he pretended to be napping with the lights out. Lois went in with Perry and Jimmy and cut the lights back on. Lois smiled and tapped his shoulder. Then shook him, getting impatient.

"Oh," Clark said with a dopey smile. "I was just having a wonderful dream."

"You weren't dreaming by any chance that you were Superman?" Lois asked playfully.

"That's exactly what I was," Clark said. "I was Superman flying through the air."

"That wasn't a dream, Mr. Kent," Lois said, still speaking in a teasing tone. "As far as I'm concerned that was a nightmare."

They all laughed. Lois would feel like she was having a nightmare if she knew she was in love with Clark Kent. Speaking of nightmares, Chloe wished she would wake up from hers. It suddenly got quiet. She was still standing in front of Perry's office and she strained to hear what was going on. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Chloe took a deep breath and got ready to explain what she was doing, which she'd had to do many times to some of the reporters. It was Lois.

"What in the world are you doing, Chloe?"

"I'm just—Chloe. You called me Chloe!"

"It was your name last time I checked. Did you decide to change it?"

"No," she said, smiling and hugging her. "My name is Chloe." She had tears of joy as she took in her surroundings. She ran over to the nearest computer and kissed it. "I missed you."

"Chloe," Lois said, following her. "I know you like computers, but that's taking it a little too far. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," she said, kissing a desk calendar. "I just had a bad dream."

"You want to talk about it?" Lois asked.

"Not really. I'm just glad it's over. I want to forget about it."

"Okay."

Chloe pulled out her cell phone and kissed it.

"So do you want to stand around kissing inanimate objects all day or get started on a new story?"

"That's right. I'm a reporter. Hallelujah, I'm a reporter!"

"You might want to switch to decaf, Cuz."

"I'm fine. What's the story?"

"It's about some woman who calls herself the Spider Lady."


	15. Chapter 15

"What did you say?" Chloe asked. Her eyes were wide and her voice barely above a whisper.

"I said Spider Lady. She's apparently a leader of a gang. Although I can't imagine someone following somebody who calls herself Spider Lady. Let's get back downstairs, and I'll tell you all I was told by our new editor."

"New editor?"

"Don't you remember we got a new editor today?"

"Not Perry White?"

"I thought you knew. You should have. You were staring at his office door just a minute ago."

Chloe looked back at the door. The name Perry White had been newly posted on the door.

"He stepped out for lunch. I know you haven't got a chance to meet him yet, but he gave us this story to work on together. It should be fun to be partners. I wouldn't partner with anyone else on a story. If we do good on this, we may be able to move upstairs, instead of traipsing up here every time we need to see the editor. Chloe, are you listening to me?"

"What?" Chloe asked, who had spaced out. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm listening."

"Where were you this morning anyway?"

"Morning? You mean I've only been gone one morning?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lois asked, looking worried.

"I'm fine. I was on my way to work and I just—you know what, let's just get started on this story."

"You don't look excited. This is a big story to be as low on the totem pole as we are."

"Right," Chloe said, heading for the elevator. "Let's go then."

Once they were downstairs, Lois gave Chloe the file to look at, and Chloe skimmed over it. "There isn't much to go on."

"Tell me about it," Lois mumbled, "but I have no doubt she exists. 8 people have confessed that they were part of the gang. Unfortunately, the only thing they knew about Spider Lady is her name."

"I might know a little more than that," Chloe admitted.

Lois looked at her in surprise. "Really? Like what?"

"It's more of an intuition thing," Chloe said, not able to tell her the truth. Lois would no doubt think she'd gone crazy.

Lois took the file back and tapped her foot, while she thought over the information they had to go on. Chloe watched her with interest. She'd never noticed before that most of the time, Lois wore a skirt and jacket to work that almost reminded you of something out of the 30s or 40s. She also wore some major heels to the office.

Lois noticed that she was staring at her. "What?"

"Do you always wear heels like that?" Chloe asked.

"Not always. You know I wear jeans and flats when I'm at home, taking it easy. I just feel like this is more appropriate to wear to the office."

"But what if you get attacked in that, which is bound to happen sooner or later in our line of work?"

"I can run in these things like they were tennis shoes. Lucy and I used to race in high heels when we were kids, and sometimes we even snuck onto the military obstacle courses in them. If you have to fight somebody, these shoes are great for kicking in. These sharp little heels can really be used to your advantage. They're painful tools if you know how to use them."

"I bet," Chloe said. She could picture Lois digging them into her fallen prey. "You don't like computers, do you?"

"They're okay I guess, not my forte."

"How do you feel about typewriters? Do you think you could type faster on them?"

"I don't think so. You'd have to type it over and over until you got it perfect, and it's the same principle really. The keys are in the same order. Besides, I never really tried before. I pretended to type on the typewriter Clark and I brought you just for the fun of it."

"That's right! You and Clark brought me a typewriter for my 18th birthday." The past seemed to be connecting with the present all of a sudden. In a way, Lois and Clark were the same people they'd always been even if they didn't know it. Clark and Lois had acted like they knew each other forever almost from the beginning. They barely knew each other, and they'd brought a present together, a present that had to do with the past they'd come from. Clark was as inept with a computer as Lois was. It was all making sense. "I bet you know who the president was in 1948."

"Truman, wasn't it?"

"And you never went to a history class a day in your life or paid attention to it anyway. Don't you find it weird that you would know the answer like that? You didn't have to study it. You were there."

"How old do you think I am? I'm only a year older than you. What's with all these strange questions and comments?"

"Nothing. Let's keep thinking of ideas on how to approach the story." Chloe suddenly had a newfound respect for Lois and Clark. They were older than her. They were older than her grandparents. Lois had been a journalist long before Chloe had been born. No wonder she'd had instant talent for it without going to school. She had the best teacher of all, experience. "I'm going to try looking on a computer and see what I can find. You want me to show you how to work one?" she asked, speaking to her like she would their grandmother.

Lois lightly smacked the side of her head. "If you don't stop speaking to me like I'm senile, I'm going to smack you harder than that."

Clark came through the door. "Are you ready to go to lunch?" he asked them.

Chloe didn't remember a lunch appointment, but Clark came to the city to eat with them whenever he could get away. "Where are we eating?" Chloe asked. It felt good. She was being included again.

"Luigi's Spaghetti," Clark answered.

"Here in Metropolis?" Chloe asked, not knowing the place existed in this time too.

"Well, it's not in Italy," Clark said with a smile. "I've heard it's the best reasonably priced Italian food in the city."

"I think I've eaten there once," Lois said. "It sounds familiar."

"It should," Chloe said. "I'm hungry. Let's go."

"I'm not going," Lois said, turning on her own computer.

"What do you mean you're not going?" Clark asked. "You have to eat."

"I'll eat later," she said with a wave of her hand. "I usually step out and grab some fast food when I get a chance and eat while I work. In fact, you can bring me something back."

"You're going to take your lunch break," Clark said. "It's the law."

Lois rolled her eyes. "It's also the law that I don't have to eat if I don't want to, so you and Chloe go on. I won't die of starvation, I promise."

Clark sat down and watched Lois.

"What are you doing?" Lois asked, sounding irritated.

"I'm not leaving until you leave with us," Clark said calmly and simply.

"Fine!" Lois said, standing up and grabbing her pocketbook. "Let's go then!"

Clark smiled, knowing he'd won this one.

Lois saw the smile. "I hope you know I'm going to make your life miserable for this."

"What's new?" he asked.

"That's it. You're going to find out what's new. I'm going to—"

"Guys!" Chloe pleaded. Their bickering was starting to get on her nerves, especially now she could see their harsh words really belied their feelings for each other. She was also starting to feel like she was invisible again. "It's been almost 60 years. Get a room!"


	16. Chapter 16

They both turned around to face her. Clark's face was one of pure shock; Lois' was half shock, half anger.

"What did you say?" Lois asked in a voice that Chloe had rarely heard directed at her.

"I said get a move…on," Chloe added. She was tired of their masked flirting, but she didn't want to get the crap beaten out of her by her cousin.

"That's what I thought you said," Lois replied, but it was clear she knew she'd heard the right words the first time around, but for the sake of her cousin, she was going to pretend she didn't.

Clark was still looking at her in disbelief. He knew he'd heard it right too. He swallowed, "Let's go eat."

There was a lot of tension in the air while they ate. Nobody did any talking except to the waiter. Chloe had certainly got them to quit arguing.

That night back at the apartment, Lois said, "Thanks a lot."

"What?" Chloe asked, wincing.

"You know what. What's gotten into you?" she demanded.

She sighed. "You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"Try me," she said, folding her arms. "I'm willing to believe a lot more than you think."

Chloe studied her waiting cousin carefully. Maybe honesty was the best policy and if she told her about Spider Lady and she believed it, it would make the present day investigation go much better. "Okay. Here it is. I think I went to 1938, where there was a Spider Lady and you and Clark and Jimmy and Perry were all there. I was too but not as myself. You didn't know about the future or anything. You all belonged there, but I didn't."

"How did we defeat Spider Lady?" Lois asked.

Chloe couldn't tell if Lois believed it or was humoring her. "Well, Superman played a big role in that. He was this guy with powers and—"

"A red cape and an S on his chest," she finished.

Chloe was stunned. "You know? How can you know?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy," Lois said, uneasily.

"If that's the case, you have company. We're having the same hallucination. How do you know about Superman?"

"I dream about him," she paused and waited for her to say something; when she didn't, she continued, "It's kind of a foggy recollection though but a recollection all the same. So you see, I really do believe you. Do you know where we can find Superman in this time?"

"Sort of. It's simply a matter of getting him to put on tights, I think." Chloe wasn't at all sure she could talk Clark into becoming Superman. She'd lucked out with Lois, but she was sure Clark would think she had flipped.

"Good. We'll have this wrapped up in no time then." She waited for Chloe to elaborate on the subject of Superman. When she didn't, she started to say something.

"So you dream about it," Chloe said, beating her to the punch. "Only it wasn't a dream. This is too weird."

"I guess, but let's stop talking about it for now. It's starting to weird me out. How did you get there anyway?"

"I have no clue. I—"

The phone rang, interrupting their conversation. "Lois Lane," answered Lois. There was a pause and then she said, "Who is this?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "Well, okay then. Why not?"

"Who was it?" Chloe asked, after she hung up.

"He said his name is Hawkins and he has information about the Spider Lady for me. It's strange. I have such a strong feeling of déjà vu."

"You should," Chloe said. "Well, let's go see reliable, old Hawkins."


	17. Chapter 17

"It's even the same alley," Chloe remarked with a shake of her head. "So you really have never met Hawkins?"

"I've really never met Hawkins. Now would you quit asking me that," Lois replied.

They walked into the dark alley.

"Hello," came Hawkins' voice rather suddenly.

Chloe wasn't surprised in the least. She had been expecting it, but Lois gave a gasp and then got angry. "Way to sneak up on a person. What's wrong with you?"

Chloe nudged her warningly. They needed Hawkins to reveal what he knew, and they couldn't afford to offend him.

He wasn't offended though. He just smiled. "Nothing's wrong with me, but when you lead the kind of life I lead, it is important that you be stealthy. I did not ask for you to bring a companion."

"I'm sorry," Lois said. "She's my cousin and a fellow reporter. I promise she's trustworthy. So what's this about Spider Lady?"

He hesitated but then said, "How much are you going to pay me for it?"

"That depends on what the information is," Lois said with folded arms.

"I came prepared," Chloe said, slipping him a bill.

Lois looked about to protest but then changed her mind. "So what is it?"

He looked around cautiously. "Well, Spider Lady is going to pull a job at a bank tonight around midnight."

"Don't you mean Spider Lady's men are going to pull the job?" Chloe said. "She just gives the orders."

"Which bank?" Lois asked. "There are lots of banks in Metropolis."

"I don't know," Hawkins said.

"If you learn anything else, call us. Come on, Chloe, I think we're done here."

Chloe nodded and followed. Once they were out of range, she said, "His information is usually more detailed than this. I guess he's just starting out at being an informant like we're starting out with reporting."

"I don't see how this information is going to help us. There's no way we can cover all the banks in question."

"We could call the police," Chloe suggested.

"We could, but they're not going to take this seriously, especially when we tell them where we got the tip from, a bum on the street. "

"Superman."

"Superman?" Lois said uncertainly. "I still don't understand how you're going to contact him." She looked up in the sky. "I don't think he's up there flying around. He's not going to come swooping in from the sky."

"What are you looking for, Lois?" came an amused male voice from behind them. "Birds and planes? That's the only thing you're going to see up there."

Lois looked back down. "What in the world are you doing out here, Smallville?"

He grinned. "I was just out walking."

"In the middle of the night in Metropolis?" Lois asked.

He just shrugged. Then he noticed that Chloe was grinning at him kind of manically. "What?" he asked, his smile disappearing.

"You and I need to have a talk," Chloe said. "We can chat back at the Planet."

"Don't tell me Smallville knows Superman," Lois said.

Clark looked confused. "I certainly don't. I think I would remember a name like Superman."

"Come on," Chloe said, leading the way back without further explanation.

Back at the office, Chloe had taken Clark into a private room to talk to him. Lois strained to hear, but the walls and doors were just too soundproofed. With a building full of professional snoops, it was the only way to go, but it was annoying Lois right now. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. Then she knocked loudly.

"Just a minute," Chloe yelled back.

Lois sat down on one of the chairs in a huff. She hated being left out of the loop. She couldn't begin to imagine what they were talking about.

sss

"No," Clark said adamantly. "Are you nuts or something?"

"It's an effective disguise. You can use your powers without fear of any bad consequences."

He took a second look at the costume that she had drawn on a piece of paper. "It's ridiculous. There's a cape and is that underwear on the outside?"

"Clark, be open-minded. It's flashy, and it keeps the attention off of your face."

"Even if I agree to this, which I'm not, where am I going to get it from?"

"Didn't Rachel give you a red cape?"

"The cape's the easy part. What about the rest?"

"It seems to me you have a red pair of Speedos."

He blushed. "I never wear it. It was a present."

"You have a yellow belt. The symbol is the House of El. You can get it off your baby blanket. You have a pair of red rain boots. As for the tights-"

"Tights! Who said anything about tights?"

"I did. Men ballet dancers wear tights all the time. All you have to do is go to a dance store and you can find some blue tights I'm sure. You have a costume ready to go in less than an hour. It's destiny."

"Whose destiny? Not mine."

"Come on, Clark. We're running out of time."

"Where did you come up with this anyway?"

"It's destiny. That's all I can tell you or know really. I think you'll like it if you give it a chance."

He still stared at the picture skeptically.

"Lois likes the costume," Chloe said. She knew it was a low blow, but it wasn't untrue and he would do almost anything if he knew it would make Lois happy. She'd learned that well recently.

"I'll try it, but if I feel too ridiculous, I'll find something else to wear."

"Agreed," she said, putting out her hand to shake his. He did. "And with a costume, you can rush all over the city and find out which bank is going to be robbed."

When they came out, Lois was glaring suspiciously, "What were you talking about? I heard something about tights."

"Nothing," answered Clark and Chloe at the same time.

Lois continued to glare, particularly in Clark's direction, and then her eyes widened. "You're Superman."


	18. Chapter 18

"What are you talking about?" Chloe asked, laughing.

"Laughing it off isn't going to work, Chloe. I'm not an easy person to lie to. I just don't do a lot of pushing unless I think it's important." She looked Clark straight in the eyes. "Tell me you're not Superman."

"I'm not Superman," he said and then he added, "yet."

Chloe looked around, double-checking that there were no eavesdroppers. "Clark, I can't believe you just told her."

Lois looked a little smug that she had guessed it right, but she was surprised that Chloe had said that. "Why? You'd rather he lie to me?"

"No, that's not what I—"

"So you'd rather be the only one in on his secret."

"Yes, I mean no. It's just not a secret that everybody can or should know."

"It wasn't spur of the moment," Clark said, speaking up. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Why shouldn't I tell her? Lois is one of my closest friends, and she's trustworthy."

"Thank you, Smallville," Lois said. "I'm glad someone doesn't want to hide things from me."

"You're both right, I guess," Chloe said with a sigh. "I doubt Lois could have been shaken from this idea anyway."

"So are they meteor powers?" Lois asked.

"No, I'm an alien," he answered.

"Hmm," she said, taking a little bit to digest it. "Who would have thought an ordinary farm boy was a being from another planet?"

"I hate to interrupt, guys, and I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Lois, but they're going to have to wait. In case you've forgotten, we have to catch Spider Lady," Chloe said.

"Of course," Lois said, standing up from her chair. "Is it weird if I say I feel like it isn't the first time I've discovered Smallville's secret?"

"Not weird at all, I wouldn't think," Chloe replied.

"I feel like it isn't the first time that you've discovered it either," Clark said.

"Okay, now it's time to focus," Chloe said. "We have to get Clark's costume together."

"Right," Lois concurred with a smile and then she squinted as she studied him closely. "I don't think the costume is enough though. He still needs something." Then she went over to her desk and pulled out a pair of glasses from the drawer. "I used this once when I was undercover. It didn't work for me, but I have a feeling you'd look like a completely different person with glasses. You should wear them when you're not in your costume. They're not real lenses, but you'd never be able to tell."

"I should have remembered that," Chloe said.

Clark took the glasses from Lois, and Chloe offered him a mirror from her pocketbook. "I don't know about this," he said.

"I do," Lois assured him. "You look hot. I mean—you look better—different. I mean different."

Chloe and Clark were both grinning at her slip, particularly Clark.

Lois frowned at him. "Go get your costume, and Chloe and I will make a list of the banks in the area and their locations."

Clark did as he was told, but he still had a smile on his face when he left.

Chloe was also still smiling, "Hot, uh?"

"What happened to your focus? Banks, remember?"

"I remember," Chloe said. "Where's the telephone book?"

"Telephone book? Are you serious? I didn't know you knew it existed. You usually hop onto the computer and have a printed list ready to go in less than a minute."

Chloe looked a little sheepish. "Right. I'm still getting used to the time change."

It didn't take long for Clark to get back. He brought a duffel bag with him.

"Is it in there?" Lois asked with a smirk.

"Yes," Clark answered, not enjoying this one bit.

"Can I see it?" she asked suggestively.

"No," Clark said, turning red.

"Come on," Chloe said. "You have to put it on sooner or later."

"There's no one else but us on this floor," Lois said. "We're the only ones this low who work after hours."

Clark went to change.

Chloe sighed when he shut the door. "Did you know he could be out in his costume by now? Heck, all he's got to go is spin, and we wouldn't see anything."

Chloe chuckled as Lois was obviously attracted by the prospect of him whirling into other clothes in front of her.

It took a full minute before Clark came out and then he only poked his head out.

"Come on, Clark," Chloe said.

"You're not wearing anything we haven't seen."

He came out. Chloe smiled reassuringly. Lois whistled, earning her a glare from Clark.

Chloe handed him the list of banks to check. "You're on duty now."

Clark headed toward the elevator.

Lois frowned. "Can't you just fly out a window?"

"Not yet, I have to super speed everywhere," he replied. "How do you know all this stuff anyway, and Chloe, where did this costume idea come from? You two have been acting really strange. I'd like to know how—"

He was cut off by the closing elevator doors.

"Saved by the elevator," Lois said. "What are we going to tell him? The truth?"

"I don't know yet."

"Well, let's go," Lois said, heading toward the elevator.

"Where?" asked Chloe.

"You didn't think I was going to sit here and wait, did you? He may have super speed, but he can't be everywhere at once. We might as well check out the banks and kill time."

Chloe shook her head. There was no stopping Lois. You either had to join her or step out of her way. "Wait for me."

Half an hour later they were at their fifth bank.

"No bad guys here," Chloe said, turning to leave.

"Wait," Lois said, grabbing her arm. "Look at that man sitting in the corner."

"He's just reading a paper," Chloe said.

"Let's just stick around for a little while."

Chloe had a feeling that they should have gotten out of there, but she did what Lois wanted. About 15 minutes later, Chloe was about to ask Lois if she was ready to leave yet as the newspaper man had already left. They'd never been able to see what he looked like; his face was always hidden by the paper. 3 guys with guns and masks walked in before she could ask though.

"Down on the floor," shouted the lead man.

Chloe wondered if it was the newspaper man. He'd probably been on a stakeout to see when the lowest volume of people was there. It wasn't even close to midnight, Hawkins had been wrong in that respect. Chloe and Lois did what they were told and got on the floor. The teller filled their bags with money with one of them holding a gun on her.

"Where's Clark?" Lois whispered to her.

Before Chloe could reply, one of the men shot his gun in the air, causing almost everyone to scream. "No talking."

It didn't take long to fill the bags. They paused for a moment. "It wouldn't hurt to take a hostage," said one of them.

They chose Lois. Somehow it didn't surprise Chloe. Lois attracted trouble like flowers attracted butterflies.

Lois struggled. "Let me go," and did her best to wrench out of the man's grasp, but she stilled when he placed the nozzle of his gun against her back.

"We picked a live wire," the man holding her chuckled, "but I think we can tame her."

They went out the door with her. Everyone stood up. "Call the police," shouted one woman. Chloe was about to dash outside, but Lois came back in before she could finish working her way through the crowd of panicked people. She looked angry. Costumed Clark was following her.

"You let them get away," she growled.

"What was I supposed to do? They threw you out of the window and started shooting. I had to catch you and shelter you from the bullets. By then they'd disappeared."

"How could you be so stupid?" Lois asked. "You could have dropped me behind something instead of sheltering me with your body."

Chloe couldn't believe her eyes. Lois was talking to Superman, not with the doe eyes she usually had in the alternate world, but with her biting frankness.

"I can't believe you're talking to Superman like that," Chloe said, her eyes wide.

Lois looked at her confused, and then broke into a slow smile. "Superman's never been Smallville before."


	19. Chapter 19

Clark was racing through the streets, x-raying the cars for signs of the men, but not having much luck, while Lois and Chloe were at the Daily Planet, trying to find out all they could about Spider Lady.

Chloe had printed off a list of all the crimes believed to be related to her, and she handed it to Lois to peruse.

"This is interesting," Lois said. "Did you see where they broke into the Metropolis Museum? I wonder what they took."

Chloe looked alarmed. "I hope it wasn't a meteor."

Lois chuckled. "Why would they want to steal a meteor?"

"Clark's powers may seem unstoppable, but when he came to earth, so did the meteor rocks from his home planet; the ones that you find around Smallville all the time, and to Kryptonians, they can be deadly or at least extremely harmful, leaving Clark powerless to stop anything. It's also what they took in my dream or visit or whatever it was, so they could get Superman out of the way."

"They don't know much about Superman, if anything. They wouldn't know his weakness," Lois reasoned.

"You're probably right, but we better find out what they did take." Chloe pulled up the paper from the day of the robbery on her computer and found the article. "They stole the prototype of a gun that has nuclear capabilities."

"Why would they have a dangerous weapon like that in a museum?"

"The article says that it doesn't really work except in theory because it has to have gold radioactive material from space to work. It uses the same technology that LuthorCorp developed; the gun absorbs the radiation, giving it enough power to demolish a town. It makes sure to tell the public there's nothing to worry about because the radioactive material is extremely difficult to find, and if it was found, the material would be used up quickly, making the rock useless."

"So in other words, it uses the meteor rocks from Clark's planet that are readily available in Smallville?"

"Yes, they're right about it not being the most common type, but it's not impossible."

"So we have to stop them before they find it," she said simply. "The question now is how do we get the spider to trap us in her web."

"We don't want to be trapped in her web," Chloe said. "Being trapped means there's a good chance of dying."

"I'm not saying we should become willing victims, but she's famous for sending out her crime syndicate to do all the dirty work, right? If we can discover Spider Lady's identity, the whole web comes down. If we catch a few, little gnats here and there, she could care less. There's more where they came from, and usually the way these crime bosses operate, they're not likely to know anything important about her anyway."

"You're right, but that's where Clark comes in. He's the one with the superpowers, remember?"

"I told you Clark can't be everywhere at once, and if by chance they do manage to get the meteor rock, it would be too dangerous for him to be near it."

Before Chloe could blink twice, Lois was up and heading for the door. "But it's not too dangerous for you?" she called after her, trying to reason with her, but Lois ignored the question.

Instead of just following her and hoping to intervene, Chloe decided this time she could go straight to the help.

sss

Lois knew the perfect way to draw them out. She was going to lure them by making them think she had the gold kryptonite. Lois' connections in the world of journalism were growing all the time, and she had a connection with a person who had ties the black market, a person who could let the right people know what she would pretend to have. She arranged to have the interested party, knowing that party would likely be Spider Lady's men, meet her right outside Metropolis.

She didn't have to wait at the spot 15 minutes before a car pulled up, and 3 men came out of the car.

"You have the gold meteor rock?" one of them asked.

Lois patted her pocketbook. "Right here. Do you have the cash?"

"Let's see it first," the man demanded.

Lois had picked up some fool's gold from the Metropolis Museum gift shop, hoping that it would be enough to fool them.

"I have a larger stash than where this came from," she said, holding it out on her hand for them to see.

The man took the fool's good from her hand and passed it around to the other men. "Is this really from space?"

"I don't know," said the man who seemed to be in charge of the small group, "but we better bring the girl along. Spider Lady's going to want the whole supply if she's telling the truth or to dispose of her if she's not."

Although Lois didn't plan on putting up a fight so she could get to Spider Lady, they swarmed her and one of the men used the butt of his gun to hit Lois on the head, not giving her a chance to protest. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

sss

Chloe was in the alley behind the Planet. Not knowing if he carried his cell phone, she saw no other way but to call out and hope he was close enough to hear. Not knowing what else to call him when he was in his costume, she called out, "Superman!"

Chloe felt the breeze before she saw him, and he asked, "Did you find something out?"

"Not too much other than they're close to having a weapon of mass destruction, and it uses the gold variety of meteor rocks if they can find it."

"That's just great. Hopefully they haven't been able to, or it could take my powers away forever. My superhero career will be over before it ever starts. Where's Lois?"

"That's why I called you here. She went out to use herself as bait, and if anyone can do that, I'm pretty sure it's Lois."

Clark was not happy. "Did you find out where she was going?"

"She knew I didn't approve, so she didn't let me in on what she was up to, but she just left the Planet. She shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Stay here and let me know if she comes back."

Before she could reply, she felt another breeze.

sss

Just outside of Metropolis, he saw a place that looked promising. He came to a stop, so he could examine it more closely.

There was evidence of a struggle from the crushed grass, and he shuddered as he saw some fresh blood was staining some of the blades. He became even more alarmed when he saw Lois' press pass lying in the ditch and picked it up. He also noticed the fresh tire tracks. The tires had been marked from the mud in the ditch, making it easy enough to go after them.

He followed the tire tracks until they were no longer visible. It was a winding country road with not many opportunities to turn off, so he kept following even when he was no longer able to follow the tracks, but it was like they had dropped off the face of the earth. His x-raying into the wooded areas and numerous caves didn't reveal where they had gone.

He went back to the Daily Planet to update Chloe on the situation and hope that Chloe had been able to find out something more.

"Did you find her?" Chloe asked eagerly.

He shook his head. Worry and fear were in his eyes. "I saw where she was abducted, but I can't find her or the car."

Chloe let out a heavy sigh even as the familiar knot of worry crept into her stomach. Lois had been kidnapped. Again.


	20. Chapter 20

When Lois regained consciousness, the world was still dark because she had been blindfolded, and she was tied to a chair. They must have been waiting for her to come to because it wasn't but a few seconds later when she felt the brush of a furry arm or leg, and a shiver went down her spine because it felt like a giant tarantula leg.

A cool, cultured female voice said, "It was a nice try, my dear, but I have a scientist working for me that can easily tell the difference between the meteor rock and gold or even fool's gold. Remove her blindfold. I want her to see me before she dies."

Lois' mind raced, trying to decide what her next step should be and hoping she hadn't gotten in over her head, as she felt someone's hands fiddling with the knot of her blindfold.

A horrifying sight greeted her eyes when the blindfold was removed. The woman in front of her would have been an attractive blonde if not for the beady eyes that had a reddish tint, the fangs, and the extra 4 legs on her rib cage that looked more spiderlike than human.

She had not expected her name to be so literal. Why hadn't Chloe prepared her for this?

"My appearance is impressive, is it not? Meteor rocks from Smallville did this to me. I was bitten by a meteor-infected spider." She picked up what must have been the stolen gun from the museum with one of her normal human hands. "If my scientist is correct in his theory, this gun that I possess won't just demolish a town; its radiation will bring about mutations in others as well. I don't intend on being the only freak around. When that happens, I can finally come out of this hideaway and live a normal life again."

Lois tried to keep her tones controlled as she replied. "There must be another way. With some reconstructive surgery, I'm sure that you could look normal again."

She laughed derisively. "Because society is just so understanding, right? I was placed in an institution called Belle Reve and experimented on before I escaped. I refuse to be the oddity any longer. It's a shame though that I can't let you see the new age of freaks, but I can't risk you ruining the plan or exposing my secret."

sss

"I may be able to help us find Lois," Chloe said slowly.

"How?" Clark asked.

"It's a long, crazy story, but I was in some sort of alternate universe that was also in the past. One of the similarities was that there was a Spider Lady then too, and her hideout was a cave not far out of Metropolis."

"I looked, Chloe, with my x-ray vision, and I didn't see any signs of anybody."

"If I remember correctly and if it's true now, the walls were made with lead, which would explain that."

"Do you think you could find it again? I know there are a lot of them in that area."

"I think there's a possibility that I could find the right cave, assuming it's the same one."

Clark's expression went from glum to hopeful, "That's great. What are we waiting for then?"

"It may be a long shot," she warned.

"Any shot's better than no shot," he said. "Tell me the road you want to go to, and I'll take us there."

"It'd be better if I drove. That's how I got there the last time, and it may help to spark my memory."

Clark didn't look thrilled at the time delay, but he agreed and super sped them to her car.

Clark was already waiting in the passenger seat when Chloe climbed into the driver's seat. She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to pretend that she was back in 1948.

"Let's hope this works," she said, starting the ignition.

sss

Lois now found herself bound in a sticky rope-like substance that she hoped was manufactured synthetically; whatever it was though, it seemed stronger than the average rope, meaning she saw no way of escape. Even if she still had her pocketbook, which she didn't, the nail file in it wouldn't cut its way through it. A man was walking toward her with a syringe.

"What's with all these theatrics," Lois complained, hoping to stall, although she doubted help was going to arrive. "If you're going to kill me why don't you just get it over with?"

"Don't worry. Your death will come soon enough," Spider Lady assured her. "The liquid in the syringe is a substance I manufactured to fit my new personage. The spider is more merciful than it's given credit for as this will paralyze you before I go in for the kill."

"Is it mercy or is it to ensure I won't struggle when you kill me in a sadistic fashion," Lois said dryly.

"Touché, and I suppose it does make it easier on the spider, doesn't it? Anyway I tire of all the talk." She motioned for her henchman to carry on, and the needle pricked her arm.

Even though Lois hadn't really been able to move before, she could feel her limbs becoming heavier. "Are you really going to suck my fluids out like a spider? Despite the mutation, you aren't a spider."

"I don't need your fluids to live if that's what you're asking. It's such an interesting way to go though. If there's an afterlife, you'll have an interesting story to tell."

"How comforting," she said sarcastically.

"I see the drug has done nothing to slow your vocal cords. If I were you though, I'd go ahead and shut my eyes," she said, walking up to her.

Lois didn't want to do anything the vile woman suggested, but she didn't relish watching her bite her neck or wherever it was she would sink her fangs into, so she opted on shutting her eyes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a menacing voice. "Unless you want it to be the last thing you ever do."


	21. Chapter 21

Lois breathed a sigh of relief never so glad to hear Clark's voice in her life, and Spider Lady did stop before she made contact with Lois' neck, but she only sounded amused as she turned around to look at him. "And just who might you be?"

"The man who's going to escort you to prison," he answered calmly, seemingly not the least bit freaked out at the sight of her.

She laughed in response. "That's an interesting costume you have on. Is it meant to intimidate or amuse me?"

"I could say the same about your appearance."

Suddenly losing her amusement, she indicated for her men to pounce on him. They followed her order without hesitation until all 6 men found themselves thrown backwards as if they were weightless and laying on their backs like helpless turtles. When they got to their feet, they didn't look eager for a repeat performance.

"Well, well. It appears you have super strength up your sleeve," Spider Lady said, looking perturbed but not defeated. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

She picked up some of the same rope that was bound around Lois, and they began to circle each other.

While this was happening, Chloe had snuck in virtually undetected and tried to saw through Lois' constraints with a pocket knife also made up of various computer tools that she carried in her purse, but the blade bent and she ended up having to loosen the knots by hands, not the most pleasant or easy task in the world due to the stickiness.

"You could have told me she was literally a spider lady," Lois whispered. "Maybe I wouldn't have so eager to be on the menu."

"I don't know about that," Chloe whispered back. "You always seem eager to rush into trouble to me, but I didn't know. She's gotten a little more literal about it since the last time I saw her."

Now that Lois was free from her bonds, they focused onto the battle going on in front of them.

Spider Lady had tried more than once to scramble in and/or throw the rope she held onto him, but she didn't have a chance with his super speed. At last Clark snatched the rope from her and used it on them instead; Spider Lady and her gang were wrapped in their own special rope.

"I'll see that the police don't have any trouble with her until she's safely locked up. You two can go get started on the story if you want, so you can beat the other papers to it."

Lois didn't need to be told twice.

Chloe just hoped that Spider Lady wouldn't rear an even worst form of herself in another 60 years.

sss

Back at the Daily Planet, Chloe and Lois had written the article on Spider Lady together and turned it in. Clark had joined them again. They were discussing calling it a day when a news clip caught their eye.

The news clip showed a flaming Lexcorp building.. "No suspects at present, but police are investigating the explosion," the reporter was saying in live time.

"I wonder what plot Lex is trying to cover up," Chloe said dryly.

"I think there's no doubt that it has something to do with the meteor freaks," Clark said. "I don't think it's a coincidene that it's corresponding with Spider Lady gets arrested."

"I definitely don't think she planned on keeping it a secret anymore, since it would be the only way she could enact revenge from behind bars. I think I'm going to scrounge around in the rubble if the police or firefighters haven't already found something worth noting. Chances are there's no evidence left, but it never hurts to look."

"I'm going with you," Clark said. "Someone has to keep an eye on you."

Chloe chuckled. "You got that right. I think she could find a way to get kidnapped or knocked out at a Sunday school picnic."

Lois looked greatly offended. "I beg your pardon, but those things don't happen to me that often."

"Trust me, they do," Chloe assured her.

Ignoring her cousin, she focused on Clark. "If you feel you must come along fine, but don't you think you should bring your costume?"

"Why?"

"You never know when you'll need it. You might even want to wear your costume underneath your clothes 24/7, so you'll be ready to help at a moment's notice." She turned to Chloe. "And I suppose you want to come along as well? You might as well because I think my car is about out of gas."

While Clark retrieved his costume and Chloe looked for her keys, Lois slipped out. It didn't take them long to figure out that Lois had left without them.

Clark shook his head, but there was a smile on his face that hinted he was smitten. "That Lois. She knows now that I have powers. She can't ditch me; she has to know that, and did coming within an inch of death for the 100th time teach her nothing?"

"Obviously not. I'm going to sit this story out if you don't mind. I've already gotten a new assignment from the editor and you can catch her faster without me anyway, but you two have fun."

Clark didn't seem to mind. "Catch you later then."

Chloe didn't really have an assignment from the editor, but she thought that they could use some time alone together, and she hoped he would be bitten by the journalism bug without her there to do most of the work for him, a bug he seemed destined to catch sooner or later.

He had sped off after Lois before Chloe could blink, and a smile spread on her face at the similarities between then and now. They would never change at heart whether it was 1948 or 2048.

The End


End file.
